


Stay with Me (A Stalia Fic)

by bowties_Scarves_and_Plaid



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Angst, Canon-Typical Violence, F/M, Fluff, Hurt Stiles, Hurt/Comfort, Injured Stiles, a lot of fluff
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-10-23
Updated: 2016-05-15
Packaged: 2018-02-22 07:26:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 33
Words: 71,003
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2499527
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bowties_Scarves_and_Plaid/pseuds/bowties_Scarves_and_Plaid
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After the events in Mexico, the pack is taking a well needed break. They are even starting to feel a bit more like normal teenagers. They know it won't last and are trying to enjoy it while it does. When they hear about 3 omegas wandering the preserve on the night of a full moon, everyone has a feeling that the other shoe is finally about to drop.<br/>(Takes place after the end of season 4)</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

He couldn’t stop the smile from spreading across his face at the creaking sound of his window being pushed up. At one point the noise might’ve terrified him, but being in a relationship with a werewolf changes things.

“I was hoping you’d come tonight” He said, not bothering to move from his comfortable position on the bed. He patiently waited to feel her weight on the mattress beside him.

“Why? You in the mood to get beat in some video games?” The sound of the male voice surprised Stiles so much that he leapt up, banging his head on his headboard and toppling out of bed. He groaned and looked hazily up into two bright blue eyes. “Dude you okay?” Liam outstretched his hand and Stiles gladly accepted it. Once he was on his feet he towered above the small freshman.

“Dude what are you doing here?” He said glaring at the boy. “I thought you were my girlfriend.” He absently rubbed his hand over his now aching head.

“I-I couldn’t sleep and thought you might be up.” Stiles softened his gaze at the tone of vulnerability coming from Liam. The poor kid had been through a lot recently and was clearly still trying to come to grips with it all. Stiles knew all too well about being scared of monsters and the nightmares that came along with this life. Scott and Stiles had sworn to look out for Liam in any way possible. And if that meant late night video games then so be it.

“Just don’t cry when I whoop your ass.” Stiles said giving him his best lopsided grin and punching him on the shoulder.”

“As if” Liam rolled his eyes as they settled down on Stiles’ bed.

*****

Three hours later Stiles was shouting for joy, so ecstatic that he almost fell off the bed again.

“Finally I won! Take that you little were-“ He trailed off as he looked down at Liam’s sleeping form. “Man” he threw down his controller, annoyed that his one win was taken away by the fact that his opponent hadn’t even been trying, hardly a fair fight.

He got up and changed into his pajama pants and shut off his lights. After a little consideration he shoved Liam to one side of the bed and climbed in next to him. The poor boy was so exhausted that he barely stirred.

Stiles figured that he should probably feel annoyed at the intrusion but in truth he felt the exact opposite. It was nice to feel needed. It could be hard being a human in a pack of supernatural beings, he felt so useless so often. Sure, the pack relied on him to be “the clever one”, but they take it for granted a lot. Stiles felt an insane amount of pressure to always have everything figured out. So it was nice to feel needed for just being Stiles. Liam didn’t need him to figure anything out or have everything together; he was satisfied with just hanging out. Stiles knew of course that he would have to get Liam to open up and talk to him about what he was experiencing, but for now it was enough just to keep him company and distract him from his worries.

By the time Stiles willed his hyperactive brain to slow down enough to let him sleep he only had 4 hours before he needed to be up for school.

*****

Malia found them the next morning with Stiles’ arm wrapped protectively around Liam who lay snuggled at his side. She stood next to the bed for a few moments too long just enjoying the sight of her adorable asleep boyfriend.

Unfortunately she knew they had to get to school so with a sigh she leaned down to wake Stiles up.

“Stiles” she says gently, having learned fairly quickly that people did not like to be woken up harshly. She ran her hand through his silky bedhead and kissed his forehead. No response. She took his shoulder and shook it a bit. “Stiles, you need to wake up, it’s almost time for school.” She said it a bit louder this time. Stiles groaned softly and turned his head away from her. She took his head in both her hands and slowly turned it towards her. “C’mon Stiles, let me see those beautiful brown eyes of yours.” His eyes remained firmly shut, but Malia swore she saw his mouth twitch a bit. Deciding it was time to step up her game she said, “So is it considered cheating if you’re with another guy?” At this comment Stiles’ eyes flew open and he sat straight up, dislodging Liam who groaned and sleepily opened his own eyes.

“Malia it’s not like that.” Stiles said, his eyes darting back and forth from Liam to her. “And yes it would be considered cheating.” Malia tried to keep a stern look on her face but failed. Stiles and Liam both relaxed visibly when she broke into a smile. Malia plopped herself on Stiles’ lap. His arms immediately came around her, holding her close.

“I know it’s not like that. Nightmares right?” She said, her gaze drifting to Liam. “I can smell the residual fear.”

“Malia…” breathed Stiles. She looked at him, noticing the warning in his face. “Sensitivity.”

“No its okay, I like her bluntness” Liam said with a smile. Malia felt a sudden rush of affection for the boy. She reached over and squeezed his shoulder.

“I’ve been there. It sucks, but the fear does pass. And you’re part of our pack, which means that we are all here to protect you.”

Yes we are, and we’ve all been there.” Stiles put in. But he wasn’t looking at Liam, he was looking at Malia with an odd expression on his face. Times like this she wished she had a better grasp of human emotions. She memorized the look and filled it for further examination later. Smiling brightly at the two boys she said,

“Alright sleepy heads, get up or we’re going to be late for school.”

*****

Soon after the 3 teenagers piled into Stiles’ Jeep.

“Full moon tonight” Liam said softly from the backseat. Stiles met his eyes in the rear view mirror.

“You still afraid of losing control?” Stiles asked. Liam had been doing well at keeping control.

“No, not really. It just makes me edgy and things always seem to go wrong.”

“Not this time” Stiles shook his head vehemently. “You and Malia both have control and there hasn’t been any new threats in Beacon Hills recently. Plus now we have Isaac.”

The last scuffle in Mexico had left their numbers depleted. Argent had gone off in search of Kate, Derek and Braeden were off on some secret mission, and Peter was locked up. Scott, Liam, Malia, Kira, Lydia, and himself were all that remained. Parrish could also be included, but the fact that they hadn’t figure out what he was yet made Stiles nervous. Mason had also been making a solid effort to come to terms with it all, but he was still in the coming to terms stage. Luckily nothing big had happened because they were left with only 4 reliable fighters (not including Parish because his supernatural abilities still came and went). That is until the day that Isaac showed up. Two weeks ago Stiles and Scott had been in Derek’s loft preparing for a night of relaxation for the pack.

“This was a good idea” Stiles said, rearranging the stack of DVDs in order of his top choices. “We so rarely get a night together to just relax and be teenagers.”

“Yeah, everyone’s getting a little freaked out about how quiet everything has been. It’s like we are all holding our breath, waiting for the other shoe to drop. I thought maybe hanging out might help them all to unwind.” Scott placed the television on the table in front of the couch with a self-satisfied smile that showed he was proud of himself for thinking ahead this time.

“That’s why you’re the Alpha” Stiles said with a crooked grin as he placed the Star Wars movies on top. They both looked up from what they were doing when the door to the loft creaked open. They exchanged a tense look because they hadn’t been expecting anyone. When the door opened all the way Stiles couldn’t help but gasp. The tall familiar figure in the doorway brought a rush of relief to both Stiles and Scott.

“Isaac!” Stiles shouted as he ran over and embraced him. Isaac stiffened for a second before dropping his bags and hugging Stiles back. Hard. But Stiles didn’t care because his friend was back. They finally released each other and Isaac turned to Scott.

“I’d like to be your Beta again if you’ll have me.” Scott immediately embraced him.

“You were always a part of my pack.” Isaac broke into a grin that the other boys mirrored.

“How-Why are you here?” Stiles said in slight disbelief, running his hands through his hair.

“Argent has been keeping me updated on all of you, when I heard that he wasn’t returning to Beacon Hills I thought it might be time for me to come home.”

“We’re glad you’re back Isaac.” Scott said and Stiles almost gave himself whiplash from nodding so hard.

“And you’re sure we can trust Isaac?” Liam said, bringing Stiles back to the present.

“Absolutely, I trust him with my life, in fact he has literally saved my life a few times.” Liam and Malia both still looked unconvinced. They were wary about trusting someone new. Stiles couldn’t say he blamed them after all they had been through. He just hoped in time they would learn to trust Isaac. A pack was nothing without trust. “Look, don’t worry about the full moon tonight, I have a feeling that this one will go off without a hitch.”

He couldn’t have been more wrong.


	2. Chapter 2

“3 omegas?”

“Yes, and Deaton thinks they are pretty freshly turned.”

“Why are they here? Where is their Alpha? Are they dangerous?” Stiles felt his breath quickening. Freshly turned werewolves without a pack on a full moon were bad news.

“Stiles breathe” Scott put a warm hand on his shoulder. “Deaton says they are probably looking for an Alpha…for me. They might not realize the danger they are putting people in.”

“We have to find them Scott, before they hurt someone.”

“Before who hurts someone?” Lydia’s chipper voice coming from behind him made him jump.

“The 3 omegas roaming around the preserve, Deaton’s connections say they are newly turned and looking for a pack.”

“What happened to their old pack?” Lydia asked, her eyes wide.

“That’s exactly what we’re going to find out” Scott said, closing his locker. “Tell everyone to meet at Derek’s loft after school.”

“Wha-after school? What, Scott, doesn’t this require immediate attention? We’re burning daylight here” Stiles pointed out.

“The preserve isn’t that big, and with all of us looking it shouldn’t take too long to find them. But right now we have a history test.” Stiles tried to protest but Scott grabbed the handle of his backpack and dragged him into the classroom, leaving a giggling Lydia behind them.

Stiles sat down in a huff. He did not think that Scott was taking this situation nearly serious enough. He still could remember the terror he felt when Scott had first turned. The first couple full moons were really bad. Stiles had looked at his best friend and realized that he wanted to kill him. If his best friend barely avoided killing him then god knows what a complete stranger would do.

*** 

“What’s the plan boss?” Isaac asked once they were all settled.

“We are going to split into groups and search the forest in sections. Kira and Malia, you have this area, Isaac and Liam, this section. I’ll take here and the rest of you will monitor the town.” Pretty much everyone had a problem with this plan.

“Do I have to be with him?” Liam practically whined.

“No way am I letting you go alone.” Kira said to Scott.

“I agree with Kira.” Isaac said after flashing Liam a dirty look.

“I don’t think you guys should split up.” Stiles protested.

“You can trust me to help you guys out there.” Parrish said.

“OKAY STOP!” Scott roared in his Alpha voice. The whole room immediately fell silent. “Stiles?” Scott turned to ask his advice first.

“Okay there’s 3 of them right? And they may be omegas but they are staying together. Plus they’re young and out of control. I think you should stay together because even before the moon rises they may not be in a talking mood.” Scott contemplated what Stiles had said a bit before he nodded.

“Alright, but you, Lydia, Mason and Parrish are still staying here.”

“Scott, no, I can help.” Stiles protested, but he knew that Scott was right. He would just end up being a liability out in the dark woods with a bunch of werewolves wandering about.

“I understand them, but why me? I know we don’t know what I am yet, but I can still fight” Parrish said.

“That’s exactly why you are staying here. I need you to watch over the town and them. You will be able to fight and call in the police if anything goes awry.” Parrish opened his mouth to protest again but Scott cut him off, “I can’t leave anyone unprotected.” He said looking around at all of them. Stiles heard a hint of desperation in Scott’s voice. A painful reminder of how much they had all lost. Parrish seemed to notice this too because he shut his mouth and nodded.

“What can we do?” Stiles asked.

“You can try to find where they came from. If the rest of their pack got killed, there has to be some kind of record. Any information that you can find could help us to calm them down and reach them” Stiles nodded, feeling relieved. Research was what he was good at, it made him feel useful. Figuring out things was the most a human could offer in a pack of supernaturals.

“We can do that.” Mason said, already pulling out his laptop.

“We’ll keep in constant contact okay? I’ll send you a text every 15 minutes and expect you to respond within 5. Okay Stiles?”

“Okay.” Stiles responded, catching Malia’s eye. He drummed his fingers on the table nervously, afraid for everyone’s safety. Malia walked over and put her hand over his. He didn’t meet her eyes, afraid that she would see the fear in them. But she put her hand on his chin and drew his eyes up to hers.

“It’s okay Stiles. We outnumber them and we are more experienced.”

“Yeah, I know.” He did know all that, but that didn’t stop the flutter of panic at imagining her and the rest of his friends out there. Times like this he felt so helpless.

“We’ve wasted enough time.” Isaac said suddenly

“The full moon will rise soon” Liam put in, then exchanged a surprised look with Isaac about the fact that they had actually agreed on something.

“I’ll see you soon” Malia said and leaned in for a quick kiss. She went to pull away but Stiles pulled her in close and kissed her again hard.

“Just come back to me.” He whispered into her ear, pulling her into a tight hug. She leaned into his embrace and whispered back,

“I’ll always come back to you.” She reached up and stroked his cheek lightly. He leaned into her hand, trying to ignore the feeling that something was about to go horribly wrong.


	3. Chapter 3

“Scott still hasn’t found them.” Stiles relayed the most recent text to the group. His fingers played anxiously with his phone as he looked out the window at the steadily sinking sun.

He couldn’t let negative thoughts intervene. He had a job to do. He may not be out there with his friends, but he had a chance at helping Scott if they could find out the omega’s story. Unfortunately they had yet to find anything about their mysterious visitors. Turning resolutely from the window he went to his computer and expanded the location on his google search.

“Found something” Lydia’s voice cut through the sound of his furious typing some time later. “Several counties over there are scattered reports of teenagers and a few other going missing.”

“Sounds like a pack to me.” Stiles moved over to look over her shoulder.

“Two weeks ago they found 3 bodies cut in half.”

“Cut in half? What does that mean?” Mason said looking confused.

“Lydia…can you check to see if there were any incidents from their path from that town to Beacon Hills?” Stiles asked slowly, an idea forming in his head that he desperately hoped wasn’t true. He could see that Lydia was coming to the same conclusion as she began to type furiously.

“Do you guys know what did this? What cuts werewolves in half?” Parrish said looking from Stiles to Lydia.

“Not what, who. Hunters sometimes kill werewolves by cutting them in half.”

“Here!” They all gathered back around Lydia. “About a week ago a John Doe was found a county over. He was cut in half and that town would’ve been on their path.” Stiles put his hands to his head and took a step back, breathing heavily.

“Stiles?” Mason asked. Mason and Parrish looked at them with a mixture of confusion and concern on their faces. Lydia was just staring at him with a look of horror.

“Their pack was hunted down, but the hunters only managed to kill a few of them before the rest escaped. 5 to be exact. But the hunters followed them and caught up to them at that town and killed another. And now…”

“And now they are probably still tracking them, which means they may have found their way to Beacon Hills.”

“Will they kill Scott and the others if they find them?” Parrish asked

“Maybe, hunters are supposed to have a code. But if they meet a werewolf out in the woods on a full moon they would probably shoot first and ask questions later.” Stiles looked up to see the three of them looking to him for guidance. He looked down at his phone. “Scott hasn’t texted in 25 minutes.” Stiles said with a growing feeling of dread in the pit of his stomach.”

“Maybe his just forgot” Mason said, trying to be optimistic.

“Yeah maybe” Stiles sent Scott a quick text just in case, and then he rushed over to his computer.

“What are you doing?” Parrish asked as the 3 followed Stiles.

“Tracking Scott’s phone.” Stiles fingers trembled slightly as he typed. He felt Lydia’s hand on his shoulder, steadying him. “Here, they are only a little ways away from where he last texted me.” Stiles stood up and grabbed his phone.

“Where are you going?” Jordan Parrish said, positioning himself between Stiles and the door.

“I’m going to help my friends, we can’t just sit here as they get attacked by both hunters and omegas. There’s no time to argue Parrish. They could be dying!”

“Okay stiles, okay” Parrish reached down for his own coat. “We’ll find them together.” Stiles sent a text to Derek explaining the situation and asking him to come and help if he was anywhere near. It was a long shot but Derek was known for showing up at the right place at the right time.

*****

“I don’t get it. They should be here.” Stiles looked at his phone to double check. Then he called Scott. They heard a sound and Lydia rushed over to it. She came back with Scott’s phone in her hand. “Oh that’s not good.” Stiles said as he hung up the phone. He was trying to figure out what to do next when they heard a low growling coming from behind them. “Oh that’s really not good.” Stiles gripped his bat tighter as the four of them closed ranks. Parrish took out his gun and aimed it at the sound.

“You really need to get something better than a bat.” Lydia whispered unhelpfully into his ear.

“I usually just rely on my intellect.” Stiles retorted. But then a thought occurred to him. “Parrish lower your gun.” He reached out and pushed Parrish’s arm down when the man failed to listen. Stiles handed his bat to Mason and stepped forward his hands outstretched in a gesture of peace.

“Okay look, we are part of the pack that you are looking for. We know about what happened to your pack, we know about the hunters.” Stiles said, trying to reach them. The three omegas stepped forward, their eyes glowing yellow. Stiles tried to slow his heart as he noticed they had them surrounded. “My buddy Scott’s an alpha and he and the rest of his pack have been out here all night looking for you guys.” Stiles took a step closer to the one nearest him. It was hard to tell how old he was when he was wolfed out, but he looked young.

“Stiles” Lydia breathed from behind him, but he ignored her, taking another step.

“I know you need protection and you are looking for a pack to join. If you want we can take you to Scott, but you need to calm down.” Stiles didn’t have any time to react when the wolf in front of him pounced. Stiles felt intense pain as his claws slashed Stiles’ chest. He heard Parrish begin firing as the wolf picked him up and threw him against a tree. Stiles heard Lydia begin to scream before he blacked out.


	4. Chapter 4

“I think we scared them off.” Scott said with a smile. Malia gave a sigh of relief.

“Where did those hunters come from?” Liam asked

“I think they are probably the ones who killed the omega’s pack. They probably have been tracking them the whole time. They probably didn’t expect to find us out here.” Isaac said

“They will probably just take some time and regroup. Yes they didn’t expect to find us, but they have attacked a whole pack before, they probably won’t hesitate to do it again.” Scott said with a grimace. Malia noticed he was patting his pockets.

“Did you lose your phone?” Scott met her eye and nodded.

“What time is it?”

“Past the 15 minute mark.” Kira answered.

“I probably dropped it where the hunters first attacked us.” They all turned back to retrieve it when they heard a blood curdling scream. “Lydia!” Scott yelled before he broke into a run. The rest of them immediately followed. Malia felt her heart in her throat as she ran as fast as she could. Of course Stiles had come out here when Scott hadn’t texted. That stupid boy had no idea how fragile he was.

They reached the other quickly. Parrish was going head to head with one of them, and holding his own. Mason was swinging a bat frantically at another and the last was covering its ears as Lydia continued to scream. But where was Stiles? She was momentarily distracted when a roaring sound filled her ears. She covered her ears and fell to her knees. When it stopped she looked up to see Scott, his eyes red and furious. The three omegas were on the ground and shifted back into their human forms. Isaac, Liam, and Parrish pinned them to the ground.

“We’re here to help you.” Scott said, still using his alpha voice. The three omegas stopped struggling and submitted.

“Where’s Stiles?” Malia asked her voice frantic. She heard Lydia let out a soft cry as she pointed. Malia followed where she was pointing and saw a figure crumpled at the base of a tree. Everything slowed down as she ran towards him. She couldn’t lose Stiles.

He was lying on his stomach with his shirt torn and angry scratches covering his back. Malia guessed that he must have been thrown against the tree. She felt along his scalp and her fingers came away wet with blood. She turned him over and let out a cry of pain when she saw the four deep gashes along his chest. Stiles moaned but didn’t open his eyes. His hands fisted in the dirt.

“Stiles? Stiles!” His eyes flickered open slightly at the sound of her voice. Malia took his head in both her hands “Stiles please stay with me.” His eyes closed again and his body went slack. “Stiles!” Malia yelled but it was no use. “He passed out” She said turning to Scott.

“Here help me with him.” Scott said and she helped lift Stiles onto his shoulder.

“His jeep is over there” Lydia said as she led the way. Malia saw Scott look around at the others.

“Go, we got this.” Isaac said. The omegas were subdued and didn’t look like they would be causing too much trouble.

“Bring them to the loft.” Scott instructed before he turned and followed Lydia. Malia followed them in a trance, unable to focus on anything other than Stiles’ limp arms moving as Scott ran.

*****

“He’s going to be okay.” Melissa McCall assured the group of anxious teenagers. “The scratches on his back are very minor. The ones on his chest were deeper but didn’t hit anything vital. We stitched them up and he should heal fine. He lost a lot of blood and might have a concussion, but we will know more when he wakes up.”

“When will he wake up?” Malia asked. She didn’t know much about human injuries but the others had relaxed slightly so she took it as good news.

“We have him sedated for now, but he should wake up within the next few hours.”

“Can we see him?” Scott asked. Melissa nodded and they all rushed into his room. Malia felt a slight panic at seeing him lying pale on the bed with machines surrounded him. She immediately went over and took his hand.

“He’s so cold.” She whispered

“Effects of the blood loss.” Lydia said standing next to Malia. The two girls had never had an easy relationship but Malia smiled at her when Lydia placed an arm around her waist and leaned her head on Malia’s shoulder. “He’s going to be okay Malia.” She assured her.

Scott walked to the other side of the bed and took Stiles’ other hand. The veins in his arm turned black as he gasped. Stiles sighed and relaxed into the bed.

“He’s in pain, but nothing that won’t heal with time.” Scott assured the rest of them. “How are the omegas?”

“Asleep now, Parrish and Isaac are looking after them. The one kept repeating how he sorry he was and that he didn’t know Stiles was just a human.”

“Like knowing would’ve stopped him.” Malia said with malice in her voice.

“Malia, he didn’t mean to” Scott said to her.

“I know” She said, her shoulders sagging. She knew all too well how hard it could be to keep control on a full moon. She had killed her entire family; she couldn’t blame this wolf for attacking a perfect stranger.

The door opened and they all looked up to see the Sheriff rush in. He knelt next to his son and brushed his hair back from his forehead. They all headed out of the door to give the Sheriff some time with his son.

*****

Malia must’ve fallen asleep because she woke up to the sound of the Sheriff opening the door. She looked around to see the others sprawled in chairs around her, all fast asleep.

“He’s awake.” The Sheriff whispered to her. She quietly got up and walked into the room. She let out the breath she didn’t know she was holding when she saw Stiles. He was sitting up slightly and looked alert. He smiled when he caught sight of her. She wanted to rush up to him and hug him and kiss him, but she knew that would only cause him pain. So instead she sat in the chair next to his bed and took his hand. She noticed the Sheriff walking out the door to give them privacy.

“Hey you” Stiles said in a rough voice. Malia brought his hand up to her mouth and kissed it.

“Hey, it’s good to see those beautiful eyes.” Malia tried and failed to keep her voice steady. Stiles reached up and stroked her cheek.

“I’m okay, just a couple of scratches.” He said with a smile. But Malia saw him grimace as he tried to sit up more.

“Stiles…”

“Okay so maybe they are a bit more than a scratch. But I don’t think he scratched me as deeply as he could have, I think he pulled back at the last second.”

“Like he was fighting for control?” Stiles nodded his head and then winced again. His fingers felt for the cut on the back of his head.

“That stings a bit.” He said settling back into the pillows. His eyes started to drift closed. “What about the others? And the omegas, are they all safe?” He asked with his eyes closed. Malia felt momentary surprise that he cared about the safety of the omegas. Then she reminded herself that Stiles cared about the safety of everyone. He and Scott both went to great lengths to try to protect everyone. She still struggled to grasp this concept. Stiles opened his eyes back up and looked at her with a worried expression, she realized she hadn’t answered his question.

“Everyone’s safe. The omegas are in Derek’s loft. You were the only one injured.”

“Good…that’s good.” Stiles eyes closed again and after a few moments his breathing grew heavy and his head fell to the side and his hand relaxed in hers. She leaned forward and kissed him lightly.

“Sleep well Stiles” She whispered.


	5. Chapter 5

“Will you stop looking at me like that please?” Stiles said swiveling in his chair to give Malia an annoyed look.

“Like what?” She looked back at him innocently from his bed where she was supposed to be studying history.

“You know what. That look that makes you think I am about to keel over any second. I’m fine Malia. The stitches are out, the cuts are healing, and it’s been over a week. Plus I’m going to have some pretty sweet scars when this is all over with.” He tried to make light of the situation but she just gave him a very forced smile. He sighed and went over to crouch in front of her. He took her hands and kissed them. “I’m healing Malia. I may not heal as fast as you do, but I still do it. Soon I will be good as new so can you please stop looking at me like you’re afraid that I’m going to die?”

“But I am afraid.” She whispered “You’re so fragile and you just throw yourself recklessly into these dangerous situations. You’re going to get yourself killed one of these days.” Her voice shook, but Stiles realized it was not from fear.

“You’re mad at me.” He said releasing her hand and taking a step back.

“No...Yes...well you shouldn’t have been in the woods that night!” She leapt off of the bed and stood in front of him. He grimaced at the fierceness of her tone, but he fought back. A part of him was glad that she wasn’t walking on eggshells with him anymore.

“What was I supposed to do huh? Sit in Derek’s loft and twiddle my thumbs while the rest of you were being hurt?”

“We were fine!” Malia shouted back.

“Yeah but I didn’t know that alright! I couldn’t stand to not know what was happening. I couldn’t stand not being able to do anything, not being able to help.” Stiles shoulders slouched as all of the fight went out of him. “I can’t lose you Malia; I can’t lose any of you.” Malia stepped into his arms and he held her back tightly, ignoring the slight twinge of pain in his chest. How could he make her understand that he would do anything to help his friends?

“Okay, okay.” She murmured into his chest. After a few seconds she leaned back just enough to look at his face. “Just promise me that next time you go running into the face of danger you will bring me along to protect you?” Stiles let out a chuckle and bent his head down. He stopped just above her lips and whispered,

“I promise” And then he closed the space and kissed her tenderly. She tilted her body into the kiss, her hips pressing against his. He moved his arms to grip her hips and pull her even closer. She nipped his bottom lip lightly and wrapped her arms around his neck. He ignored the slight discomfort in his chest as he slid his tongue into her mouth. After a few seconds he forgot about his pain entirely. The only thing he could focus on was Malia. She gripped his shirt to pull him until they were lying on his bed. She broke the kiss only to help him get his shirt off. She then began to gently kiss the skin all around his cuts. When he couldn’t stand it anymore he cupped her face and brought her mouth back to his. As he kissed to her he thought that this was one of the few things in his life that made perfect sense.

 

*****

“They are probably just devising an extremely efficient plan to kill us all.” Isaac responded to Stiles questioning what the hunters were doing. The two boys were lounging on Stiles’ couch, a generic TV drama playing on the screen behind them.

“Oh how I missed your sarcasm and pessimism.” Stiles said clapping Isaac on the shoulder. Although his pessimism could get a little grating, Stiles did have to admit that Isaac often said what the rest of them were thinking but afraid of saying. This instance was no exception. Stiles figured that the hunters had gotten a glimpse of Scott the alpha and were figuring out a way to take him down.

“I think we should go on the offensive. We can’t just sit here and wait for them to attack us” Stiles said.

“You know Scott will want to try to find a diplomatic solution first.” Isaac said with a quirk of eyebrow that showed that he didn’t agree with Scott’s methods. Stiles sighed. Scott’s unwavering moral compass was something that he admired most about his friend, but his life would be a hell of a lot easier if Scott was a bit more willing to bend. Of course then he wouldn’t be the true alpha that he was.

“I wish Argent was here, he could talk to them for us. You haven’t heard from them have you?” Isaac shook his head.

“I’ve tried texting and calling him a few times, just to keep him updated about everything, but he hasn’t responded yet.” Stiles didn’t miss the look of sadness pass across his friend’s features. Out of all of them, Isaac was arguably the one who was closest to Argent. Argent had practically taken Isaac in a son. The two of them had travelled to France together after Allison had died. However when Kate came back Argent wanted to come help but Isaac felt that he wasn’t ready yet. The two had gone separate ways and Isaac hadn’t seen him since.

“I’m sure he’s just busy looking for Kate. He’ll resurface after he’s caught her.”

“I hope that happens soon.” Isaac mumbled. Stiles nudged his leg with his own.

“It will buddy. You wanna watch a movie or something?” He asked hoping to distract Isaac from his thoughts.

“Uh, actually I was thinking maybe we could hang out in the loft.” Isaac said, watching Stiles’ reaction closely. Try as he might, Stiles couldn’t stop his heart from jumping a bit. He hadn’t met the omegas yet. At first he had been recuperating, and then he just couldn’t seem to force himself to make the trip. “Are you nervous?” Isaac asked.

“Yes, a bit.” Stiles answered honestly, “I’m just not looking forward to the awkwardness of meeting the kid who slashed me and threw me against a tree.” He saw Isaac flinch. “Sorry” he said quickly. He sometimes forgot that his friends had to deal with finding him and taking him to the hospital, not knowing if he was okay or not. In some ways they had been more scarred by the experience then he had. Isaac had been almost as bad as Malia with the whole overprotectiveness thing.

“No it’s okay, they won’t hurt you, you know.”

“I know, honestly I think it’s more a social anxiety thing than anything else.” Isaac looked relieved at this and quirked a smile at him.

“Don’t worry about that, Olivia talks just as much as you do.” Stiles smiled back at him and agreed to go to the loft to meet them.

There were 2 boys and 1 girl. Dawson and Remy were Seniors and Olivia was a Freshman. Their story was pretty much exactly like the rest of them had figured out. The only thing was that they had been intending on leaving anyways. A few members of their pack had wanted to break away from their alpha. They had looked for a new pack to join and found Scott. After some research they decided he was the type of alpha they would want to follow. Their original alpha was a tyrant. He turned whoever pleased him, most of time it was just a matter of someone being in the wrong place at the wrong time. He turned too many people in a short amount of time and disregarded their need to learn control. Because of this they attracted the attention of the hunters.

When the hunters had killed the first of their pack Dawson, Olivia, Remy, and a few others had sped up their plans to leave. They urged the rest of the pack to follow them. The more experienced members tried to convince them all that they had no chance against the hunters. In the end most of the pack had agreed to leave with them, but a few stubborn members pledged to defend their alpha until their last breath. Unfortunately they had all upheld their oath.

When the hunters attached, they had tried to all escape, but only a few of them managed get out. Most perished with the rest of the pack. In the end it was only 5 that made it out. Grant had been injured in the fight, hit by a poison bullet. None of them had the knowledge to be able to save him. They buried him in the woods outside of town.

They traveled for a few days before the hunters caught up to them. They were exhausted and lingered too long in one place. Lilian was the eldest and most experienced. She had sacrificed herself so that the three of them could escape.

The three omegas had desperately tried to make it to Scott before the full moon. It was only the second one they had ever experienced and they had almost no idea how to control their powers. They pushed themselves almost to the breaking point but hadn’t made it on time. One of the reasons that they hadn’t caused more harm on the full moon was that they were so physically and emotionally drained.

They had almost died several times doing it, but they had finally made it to the true alpha they had been searching for.


	6. Chapter 6

Stiles wrung his hands together as Isaac moved to open the door of the loft. His friend turned to him, his hand on the handle.  


“You okay?” Stiles nodded and Isaac yanked open the door. The scene before him looked so average and normal that Stiles felt some of his tension fading away. A girl was sprawled on the floor in front of the television, one boy was sitting on his laptop at the table, and the other boy was lounging on the couch reading a book. When they heard the door open, they all turned to look. The girl on the floor immediately jumped up and rushed over to them.  


“Oh thank god, I was going crazy with just these two for company. I love meeting new people. I’m Olivia.” The short, energetic blonde stuck her hand out. Stiles grasped it and shook it. “That’s Remy, and tall, dark, and brooding over there is Dawson.”  


“ I’m Stiles.” Looking around he saw the boy on the couch, Dawson, watching him tensely.  


“Oh you’re the one who Da…”  


“Hush Olivia” The one who was sitting at the desk got up and walked over to them. He slung an arm around Olivia who stuck her tongue out at him. “You’re going to have to excuse my little sister. Her mouth gets away from her sometimes.”  


“Sister?” Stiles asked, quirking an eyebrow at them.  


“Yeah, we were taking a short cut home from school through the woods behind our house when the alpha attacked us” Remy answered Stiles’ unasked question.  


“Remy was sent by mom to pick me up from a late night musical rehearsal.”  


“We thought we were lucky to escape with a few scratches and bites” Remy gave a short bitter laugh. “Little did we know.”  


“He killed our entire family so we’d be forced to join his pack.” Olivia said looking at Stiles’ feet. Remy’s arm tightened around her. Stiles’ heart went out to the two of them.  


“But we are here now, and Scott’s a true alpha, so I know he’ll be worlds better than our old one.” Remy said with a hopeful smile.  


“If he lets us in his pack” Olivia said under her breath. Remy elbowed her but Stiles laughed.  


“If you knew Scott better you would know that he has a compulsive need to help everyone, everywhere, always.” Stiles told them “He’ll let you in his pack.”  


“I think he’s waiting to hear from his second.” The boy on the couch finally spoke, although he didn’t look up from his book.  


“What’s a second?” Isaac asked  


“They’re the Alpha’s second in command. The one they rely most heavily on for advice. That’s you isn’t it?” Remy asked looking at Stiles  


“What…me? I don’t know. I mean I’m not a werewolf”  


“From what I’m getting Scott’s pack isn’t exactly normal. Wolves in a pack with humans, a coyote, a fox, a banshee, and a god knows what. I don’t think having a human as a second is all that odd considering. I mean you are his best friend right?”  


“Yeah since we were in diapers” Stiles considered it. He liked the idea of being Scott’s second. He really hoped that Scott felt the same way.  


“I’m watching Game of Thrones if you want to join.” Olivia said suddenly, breaking the silence that had formed. She returned to her position on the ground and patted the floor next to her. Stiles and Isaac looked at each other and shrugged then they plopped down next to her. Stiles had never seen the show before and grew restless after half an episode. He had no idea what was going on in it and he didn’t have the mental energy at this present moment to try to figure it out. Plus he had never been good at staying still for so long. So he got up and wandered around the loft for a bit. It felt weird to be here without Derek or Peter’s presence. Although he had known all along that Peter couldn’t be trusted he had been bummed to see his suspicious confirmed. He would never admit it out loud but Peter’s knowledge had been an important asset to the group. Plus Stiles couldn’t help but slightly enjoy his sarcasm and witty comments; he enjoyed anyone who had mastered the art of sass.  


Finally Stiles knew he couldn’t put off any longer what needed to be done. So he went and sat down on the coffee table next to the couch. Dawson froze but didn’t look at Stiles. Stiles had figured out quickly that Dawson was the one who had hurt him. The poor boy looked as though he expected Stiles to start shouting at him. That was not what Stiles wanted at all.  


“Whatcha reading?” He asked as nonchalantly as possible.  


“Harry Potter”  


“Oh which one?”  


“Goblet of Fire, it’s my favorite.”  


“Yeah, I don’t do a lot of reading that’s not about supernatural creatures or algebra, but I did see the movie. I like the part where the twins try to put their names in the goblet and end up as old men.” Dawson smiled and finally looked at Stiles, but when their eyes met his smile faltered and he looked away.  


“I don’t blame you, you know” Stiles said softly. This brought the boy’s eyes back to his.  


“What?”  


“Look, I know how crazy the full moon makes new wolves. Many have come close to hurting me including my best friend and my girlfriend. So I don’t blame you and if we are going to be in a pack together I think it would be best if we put this whole thing behind us.”  


“In a pack together?”  


“You don’t honestly think we’d put you out on the streets did you?  


“I thought maybe after what I did…you mean it?  


“Of course, I’ll talk to Scott and I know he’ll agree.” Stiles smiled and Dawson returned the smile look like the weight of the world had been lifted off his shoulders. Stiles could see that the boy had been beating himself up about the whole situation. Stiles really did like the three teens and knew they needed protection as much as Scott needed strength, especially now that there was a new group of hunters in town. Once they realized what a jackpot Beacon Hills was they would never leave, at least not before they had killed every supernatural being in the place. Stiles knew the hunters were supposed to have a code, but he also knew that it was sometimes broken. And if these hunters had traveled so far to kill 3 teenagers who hadn’t harmed anyone Stiles knew that they were breaking the code.  


Stiles and Dawson both jumped when Isaac and Olivia both began shouting at the TV.  


“They did NOT just kill him!”  


“What the hell is with this show! Olivia why did you ever introduce me to this show!” Isaac shouted angrily. Stiles rolled his eyes at their reaction.  


“Not a Game of Thrones fan?” Dawson asked noting his eye roll.  


“This was my first time watching it. All I could figure out was that Joffrey’s a little bitch and that winter is coming.”  


“People also die a lot” Dawson offered. Stiles laughed as Isaac and Olivia glared at them.

*****  


Malia tried to remain calm as the elevator creaked painfully upwards. She would kill Isaac for this, or at least punch him right in that smug little face. How dare he bring Stiles here, especially without her. Stiles had promised he wouldn’t do anything stupid without her again, and this qualified as stupid.  
Finally the elevator stopped and the doors opened. She was out of them in a flash. She dragged open the door to the loft. Her heart rate slowed slightly as she saw Stiles lounging on the couch, his feet plopped on the table in front of him. She relaxed a bit knowing he was safe, that is until she saw who he was sitting next to. Before she could stop it the anger came bubbling back up.  


“Malia?” She heard the uncertainty in Stiles’ voice as he sat straight up and looked at her. She growled softly as she looked around at them all, they were all hanging out like everything was fine. It wasn’t fine at all.  


“Malia!” Stiles said louder. He was right in front of her now, his hand outstretched but not touching her.  


“How can you come here Stiles? How can you be in the same room after what they did?”  


“Malia they didn’t mean it. He lost control, you know how that is”  


“I never hurt you”  


“Yes but you could’ve” Stiles took a step closer. The other wolves remained frozen to their spots.  


“Move aside Stiles”  


“No. You aren’t a coyote anymore. Disputes are not handled by fighting as humans, they are handled by talking.”  


“Stiles. Move.” Malia couldn’t believe what she was hearing. He was actually defending them, didn’t he realize they could snap his fragile body in two at any moment. Yes the full moon may have made them crazy, but she still didn’t know anything about these wolves and that made them dangerous.  


“Put the claws away and I will move.”  


“No.”  


“Malia, you’re stronger than this. You can’t let anger and fear control you.” He took another step forward and touched her arm. Out of pure instinct she put both hands to his chest and pushed. He took a step back and doubled over in pain.  


“Oh god Stiles” all the anger faded as she rushed over to him. She had gotten a lot better at controlling her coyote instincts but her control slipped when she was angry. She had been so careful with Stiles’ wounds because she knew they still hurt even though he said otherwise. She could tell by the slightly stiff way he carried himself and she saw the slight grimaces when he thought no one was watching.  


"I’m okay. Malia I’m okay. I just got the wind knocked out of me a bit.” She knelt in front of him and took his face in her hands. He met her eyes and she listened to the steady beat of his heart. He was really okay and he wasn’t angry at her. She sighed and brushed a flyaway strand of hair off of his forehead.  


“I’m sorry”  


“It’s okay, but please don’t hurt them.” He took her hands and kissed them “Stop and think for a moment. Remember what it felt like when you were first getting used to the full moon. They had just seen their entire pack murdered. They were lost, alone, and scared. I’ve forgiven them, now you need to.” Malia closed her eyes to think for a moment. She did remember what if felt like to not have control. If Stiles had been a random stranger she probably would’ve torn him apart. The only thing that stopped her was her feelings for him. These damn feelings. She never used to be so irrational. Her judgment was always severely clouded when it came to Stiles. She knew she couldn’t blame the omegas for what they had done.  


With her eyes still closed she nodded her head. She heard Stiles' sigh of relief followed immediately by the pressure of his lips. She kissed him back for a second before pulling away.  


“I still don’t know anything about them.”  


“That’s what I was doing here. Getting to know them, it’s called socializing and it’s how we learn things about each other so we can figure out if we trust them or not.” Malia knew this was probably basic stuff. Stuff that she had known at one point but forgotten during her time as a coyote. Stiles was always so patient with her and so good at explaining things in a way that would make sense to her. He seemed to understand how her mind worked more than anyone else.  


“Okay, I’ll try” She took the hand he offered and they stood up. She looked around the loft feeling suddenly awkward.  


“I’m sorry” she said mostly to the floor.  


“Hey no worries, he’s your boyfriend, you were just being protective.” The girl on the floor smiled at her brightly.  


“Plus she was a full blown coyote for 8 years, she’s still trying to grasp basic human interactions” Isaac put in.  


“Yeah what’s your excuse?” Malia spat. Stiles snorted unattractively beside her but seemed to think better of laughing when he looked as Isaac’s face.  


“You’re going to have to get along with him eventually” He told her  


“I just don’t trust him.”  


“Do you trust me?”  


“Of course.”  


“Well I trust him. Just give it time, he’ll grow on you I promise.” Malia silently vowed to try harder, for Stiles’ sake. She could tell that it was important to him that she get along with Isaac. She knew a pack was stronger if all of its members trusted each other, but she also could tell that was not the only reason he wanted them to get along. It was something more…human. She was his girlfriend and Isaac was his friend and she thought maybe he wanted the two of them to like each other because he liked both of them. From what he had told her Isaac was one of his closest friends and he had been there practically since the beginning. Someone that important to Stiles was worth taking the time to get to know.


	7. Chapter 7

“What are you doing over here?” Stiles questioned the older boy who had been furiously typing on his computer for hours. He looked over Remy’s shoulder and saw a page filled with names, pictures, and facts. “What is this?”  


“It’s a list of all of the hunters that I could remember. I knew a lot of them from town, although I think they called in a few backups to help take out our pack because there were a few that I know I have never seen before.”  


“Will you print these out for me?” If there is one thing Stiles knew about it was the compulsive need to research when you felt powerless to do anything else. He could tell from the slightly frantic way that Remy was banging on the keys that he felt the same way. “Hey look it’s going to be okay.” Stiles put a hand on his shoulder. Remy stiffened slightly at the unfamiliar touch before releasing a sigh and leaning back into Stiles’ hand.  


“I just want to be as helpful as possible. We brought all of this crap on your doorstep, and by the sounds of it, you guys really don’t need any more crap.”  


“Ah, so they’ve been filling you in on the crazy place that is Beacon Hills.”  


“Yeah after we told our story, Isaac and Scott told theirs or at least the highlights. I was a little unprepared for how long their story really was.”  


“Still sure this is the place that you want to land? No one would blame you if you three wanted to find another pack. Beacon Hills is literally a beacon for all things supernatural. You will never be able to find a normal life here.”  


“Stiles, my life hasn’t been normal since the day I was bitten, and I don’t think it will ever be normal again. And besides, I get the feeling that these hunters wouldn’t leave if we did. They know Scott exists now and taking down another pack is more important than 3 runaway omegas. It is our responsibly to stay and help out with the threat that we brought.”  


“What happens when we have dealt with the hunters?” Stiles questioned, wondering if the three of them would decide it was safer just to move on.  


“Look at them” Remy said gesturing to where Isaac, Malia, Dawson, and Olivia were lying on the ground playing Monopoly. Isaac was currently haggling with Malia over a trade, and getting increasingly frustrated when she wouldn’t budge in her pricing. His sputtering and her defiance brought wide grins to Dawson and Olivia’s faces who just seemed content to watch the two argue.  


“Not every day is like this you know. In fact we get very few days like this.” Stiles pointed out.  


“I know, but if we get just a couple days like this it will be worth it. Beacon Hills may have a lot of threats, but I don’t think we are going to find a more welcoming or accepting pack anywhere we go.”  


“Fair enough” Stiles liked the idea of them sticking around. All six wolves looked up as the loft door creaked open. Liam and Scott sauntered in all smiles. Stiles was about to yell out a greeting when a crash had them all looking around.  


“Oops” Isaac said looking around at the overturned Monopoly Board.  


“Isaac!” Olivia protested  


“Sorry” He said not looking the slightest bit sorry “Malia cheats anyways”  


“Hey do not blame your poor strategy and money problems on me.” Malia said, but she met Stiles eyes behind Isaac and gave him a wink that suggested that there may have been some foul play involved. Stiles rolled his eyes and walked over to Scott.  


“Yo Scotty, can I talk to you for a second?” Scott took the hint that it wasn’t a conversation for the group. He nodded and the two of them walked out to the balcony of the loft.  


“What’s up man, you okay?”  


“What? Yeah I’m good.” Stiles subconsciously ran his hand over the bumps on his chest. “I just think you should officially let them into your pack.”  


“You do?” Scott relaxed visibly at his words “I was hoping you would say that.”  


“Oh my god I am your second!” Stiles said a little overzealously.  


“What?” Scott said looking at Stiles with the half-amused half-confused expression that he so often wore around his friend.  


“Oh it’s just something Olivia, Dawson, and Remy were talking about. Apparently in their pack the Alpha had what they called a “Second”. It was the person who the Alpha would turn to first in the pack for guidance. They seem to think that I am your second even though I’m human.”  


“Of course you’re my second Stiles, that’s not even a question. You have more answers than me most of the time, and besides you’re my best friend.” Scott clapped him on the back and Stiles gave him a wide grin. Things hadn’t felt this normal in a really long time.

*****  


Scott called the pack together that night just to catch everyone up and make sure they were all on the same page. With the three new omegas Derek’s loft was actually pretty packed. Malia sat on the couch next to Stiles, she could feel contentment radiating from him, and it made her feel fairly content herself.  


Scott started off the meeting by announcing that he was taking in the three omegas into their pack. Malia looked around curiously at the reactions of her friends. A few seemed glad to hear this news, a few showed more neutral reactions, but what Malia noticed most was the negative reaction of Lydia. Although she didn’t say anything, Malia could tell from the ways she pursed her lips and fixed Scott with a glare that she disagreed with his decision, or at least was wary of it. Malia couldn’t blame her, although she had spent all afternoon with the newbies and got along well with them, she still would be watching them out of the corner of her eye.  


Scott didn’t leave any room for discussion however and quickly moved onto the next order of business. He gave the Omegas the floor. They explained their story again so that the entire pack knew it. Then Remy showed them the work he’d been doing at identifying the group of hunters.  


“Wait, that one, the one with red hair, I saw him buying groceries the other day.” Parrish said.  


“Did he seem to know who you were?” Scott questioned  


“I don’t know, but he sure gave me the creeps.”  


“Okay you all need to make sure to keep a low profile.” Malia and the rest of the group turned to look at Stiles. He stared at his hands for a few seconds before looking up at the group and continuing, “We have no idea how much they know about us, they may not even know who the other werewolves are. We need to try to keep it that way. Olivia, Remy, and Dawson, I know it sucks but you guys are going to have to stay in the loft at all times, we can’t risk you going out in public. And the rest of you need to keep the supernatural outbursts to a minimum.”  


“Stiles is right, it was dark that night and we look pretty different wolfed out and nobody in town who knows who we are would give away our secret…” They all looked at Scott as he trailed off.  


“Peter?” Malia asked thinking about her biological father.  


“He certainly hates us enough to tell the hunters everything, but I don’t think they could get to him even if they knew about him. And besides, Deacon has sources there that would let him know if anyone was trying to see Peter.”  


“Who then?” Asked Liam. Scott looked at Stiles, Lydia, and Isaac. Stiles and Lydia both returned his look with a one of understanding and slight horror. Isaac hadn’t seemed to get it yet. Everyone in the group looked between them, trying to figure out what they were missing.  


“Who else in Beacon Hills knows about us and would willingly give the secret away?” Kira prodded, reaching out to squeeze Scott’s hand.  


“Oh shit,” They looked at Isaac now who was looking at them with an odd expression as understanding dawned on him, 

“Gerard.” Malia searched through her memory for the name. Stiles had caught her up on the history, but it had been a lot to take in at once. Finally she pinpointed the name.  


“Chris Argent’s father?”  


“Yeah” Stiles nodded at her “Quick synopsis for those of you who don’t know. Gerard is from a family of hunters. He’s a sick and twisted bastard to say the least. He was dying from cancer and manipulated everyone so that he could get a bite from an Alpha.”  


“This was before I was one, he tried to use me to get him a bit from the Alpha at the time Derek” Scott added  


“Yeah but Scott was too smart for him.” Isaac said proudly “He switched the pills Gerard was taking with ones filled with mountain ash. When Derek bit Gerard black ooze started to seep out of his cut, mouth, and nose.”  


“I thought it would kill him” Scott said softly  


“Yeah but it didn’t. His cancer was gone, but he didn’t transform into a werewolf. Now he just sits in a nursing home with black stuff constantly seeping out. Needless to say he has a bit of a grudge against us and would readily spill what information he knows. He may be a disgraced hunter since he wanted the bite, but something tells me that these hunters are off their rockers enough to seek him out for information.” Everyone sat in silence when Stiles finished. He reached out and grabbed Malia’s hand, intertwining their fingers. The strength of his hold on her let her know how freaked out he was.  


“But maybe they don’t know about him?” Lydia piped up, Malia could see by her face that she didn’t believe the optimistic remark.  


“I’m sure the Argent family downfall has been talked about in all the hunter’s circles. Even if they don’t know all the details or what town it is, I don’t think it will take long to find out. They will find out about him eventually, the only question is when.” Isaac said looking at Scott intently.  


“If they haven’t already.” Stiles said, his voice no more than a whisper.  


“Someone has to find out what they know.” Remy spoke up for the first time. Malia could tell it took a lot of courage for him to say that, she knew what it felt to feel like you didn’t belong. To know you were welcomed but didn’t yet feel comfortable yet. It’s what she had felt every time she walked into her father’s house.  


“He’s right” Said Jordan “And it can’t be anyone Gerard knows about, because they might be watching him.”  


“It can’t be you either Parrish. A deputy would also attract attention.” Scott pointed out.  


“I’ll do it” Malia felt Stiles stiffen beside her as she spoke. She knew he was about to protest so she hurriedly continued before he could. “Look it can’t be Stiles, Scott, Lydia, or Isaac. It can’t be Olivia, Remy, Dawson or Jordan. That leaves Liam, Mason, Kira, and me, and we all know how horrible under pressure they all are.” Malia stated the facts in her typical clinical fashion. The group looked unhappy but resigned, they all knew what she said was true. Mason was too new at this whole thing and both Liam and Kira couldn’t lie to save their lives.  


“Nope, I don’t like it.” Stiles said firmly. He looked around for conformation from the rest of the group and his shoulders sagged when he didn’t get it.  


“Buddy you know she’s right. I don’t like it either, but what other options do we have.” Scott said to his friend. Stiles launched himself from the couch and walked over to the large window. He stared out it for a few seconds before turning back to them, chewing on his thumb.  


“Okay fine, but the rest of us need to be stationed around the nursing home in case something goes wrong.”  


“Of course, Stiles, nothing will happen to her.” Scott tried to assure his friend but Malia could tell it wasn’t working. Leaving the others to solidify the plan she walked over to Stiles. She could feel his nerves pulsing through him. Taking his hand she led him out onto the balcony so they could be a little more alone. Going on instinct she wrapped her arms around his waist and leaned her cheek against his chest. One arm wrapped around her and pulling her close and the other tangled itself in her hair. She could feel the frantic beating of his heart.  


“I don’t like this” Stiles said softly, his voice muffled by her hair.  


“I know, but I’ll be okay Stiles. How much harm can an old sick man inflict?”  


“He beat me up pretty good once, although I’m not nearly as tough as you are.” He tried to laugh it off but Malia pulled back so she could look at his face.  


“He what?” This was something that Stiles had failed to mention as he was telling her about Beacon Hills’ history.  


“Yeah, well it’s no big deal really.” He reached up and smoothed her hair away from her face.  


“Stiles, tell me.” She said in a tone that told him not to argue. He sighed and nodded slightly.  


“You remember when I told you about the Lacrosse game where Jackson stabbed himself?” Malia nodded confirmation and Stiles went on, he had a faraway expression on his face as he talked about it.  


“Well what I didn’t tell you was that Gerard used the chaos created by that event to kidnap me off of the field. He threw me into his basement where Erica and Boyd were being kept. I tried to get them out but their bindings were electrified. Then Gerard came down and punched me a couple times and then let me go. He was sending a message to Scott that there would be consequences if he didn’t do what Gerard asked.” Stiles kept his voice even the entire time he was speaking but Malia could tell that by the way his heart beat picked up that thinking about it still made him slightly afraid. She reached up and ran a hand gently across his cheek, she wished she could go back and protect him from the fear of being kidnapped and the pain of getting beat up.  


“He scares you” she said softly, realizing a second too late that was the wrong thing to say. She didn’t need to add insult to injury by voicing his insecurities. “Stiles, I’m sorry, that was-“  


“No its okay” He said cutting her off. She was reminded yet again how lucky she was that he was so patient and understanding. “He does scare me. And I know you are a werecoyote and he is weak, but he’s also freaking cunning and he always has a plan. We managed to outsmart him once, but barely. Who knows what he could have up his sleeve, especially if the hunters go there first. You need to be careful when you are talking to him, show no signs of weakness and give him no pity.”  


“That won’t be hard to do.” After hearing what he had done to her precious boy it would be all she could do to refrain from hitting him back to show how it felt. Pity was the farthest thing from her mind.  


“Malia…” Stiles said softly, she looked into his eyes and could tell he knew exactly what she was thinking. “You can’t hurt him either, he will do everything he can to get a rise out of you, that’s what he does, don’t give him the satisfaction. We can’t afford any attention to be brought to ourselves.”  


“I know, I can do this Stiles, I can.” She said trying to convince herself as much as him.  


“I know you can.” He said pressing a kiss to her forehead. She tilted her face up and pushed her lips into his. She wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him close. His hot tongue reached into her mouth. He kissed her passionately and a little bit desperately. His nimble hands didn’t stop moving, didn’t stop touching her. He never could seem to decide what to do with them. It was like he wanted to touch her everywhere all at once and couldn’t stand that he couldn’t. His hands gripped her waist, then ran along her back, then tangled in her hair, then cupped her face. She was so lost in the moment that she didn’t hear the figure approaching. That is until someone cleared their throat loudly next to them. They both jumped and pulled apart. Stiles would’ve fallen completely over but Malia grabbed his arm, steadying him. Liam grinned at their reactions.  


“If you two are done being so grossly infatuated we would like to go over the plan.” He said and turned and walked back inside. Stiles met her eyes and gave a resigned nod. She took his hand and they followed Liam.


	8. Chapter 8

He hated this plan. Stiles had to make a conscious effort to flex his hands after realizing they had been gripped onto the steering wheel until his knuckles turned white.

He actually didn’t hate the plan. It was a good plan. But he hated knowing that it was Malia who was most vulnerable. He hated knowing that it was Malia who was going to be alone with Gerard Argent. Gerard Argent, the man who always had a plan. The only thing that mattered was whose plan was better.

“It’s a good plan Stiles” He said out loud, trying to convince himself. He focused on keeping his breathing steady as he went over the details of the plan. Liam would go inside first, asking to use their restroom where he would stay unless something went wrong. It made Stiles feel better knowing there was a wolf so close for backup. Kira would drive Malia and stay outside in the car so she was also close. Parrish was in a squad car a few blocks away monitoring the 911 calls. Scott and Isaac were in the woods behind the nursing home, ready to provide assistance if it was needed. They were all hoping that the hunters wouldn't dare to attack them in such a public place, but they were ready just in case.

The three new werewolves in addition to Lydia and Mason had been left at the loft. They had tried to bench Stiles again but he was insistent. They all knew him well enough to know he would just come anyways so they gave in. He was in his jeep down the street from the nursing home. From his vantage point he could just barely make out Kira’s car. He was ready to spring into action at a moment’s notice, his whole body felt tense, and his nerves were fried. He rolled down the windows to give himself some fresh air, trying to keep the panic at bay.

He watched as Malia got out of Kira’s car and walked into the home. To her credit she looked totally normal and relaxed and that made Stiles think that maybe they could actually pull this off.

The minutes ticked slowly by.

“Come on Malia.” He clutched his phone, his eyes remained fixed on the nursing home entrance. So he didn’t know someone was next to him until he felt a slight pinch in his neck. His fingers reached up and pulled the needle out. He looked up at his attacker but his vision was starting to blur. His phone dropped from his hands before he could think about using it to call for help. He tried to call out but blackness overtook him.

Back in the loft, Lydia started screaming.

 

*****

“You’re one of them aren’t you? A werewolf.”

“Werecoyote actually” Malia kept her voice even and tried to not be repulsed by the sight of him.

“Can you take people’s pain?” Malia nodded, Scott had shown her that trick a little while ago. Gerard held out his hand and she walked over to him. Scott had warned her that he would probably request that of her before he did any talking. She took his hand and couldn’t help but gasp at the pain as black tendrils went up her arm. She took as much of his pain as she could without weakening herself and then stepped back.

“There’s a new group of hunters in town.” She said getting right to the point, she didn’t want to prolong this any more than she had to.

“And you want to know if I’ve had any sort of communication with them?”

“Yes”

“No self-respecting hunter would be caught dead talking to me.”

“From what I’m getting, these hunters are almost as far off the rails as you were.”

“Well you see Malia…” Her eyes widened in shock before she could stop them, she hadn’t told him her name. “Oh yes I know all about you. I know about all of you. And maybe I was visited by a hunter, and maybe I told him all about your little raggedy pack. And maybe I told them about a certain weak human boy who allowed himself to get possessed by an evil spirit that led to the death of my granddaughter. And maybe I even told him that this boy could be the key to bringing down the pack seeing as he is very special to the Alpha.” Malia retreated from his words, shaking her head. No, not him, they couldn’t hurt him.

“Stiles…”

Just then a scream reached her ears that could only belong to Lydia. She immediately turned and ran out the door, ignoring the sounds of laughter coming from Gerard. She was so disoriented she almost ran directly into Liam.

“Are you okay?” He said frantically

“Yes, the screams not for me” She said as she got her bearings again and ran as fast as she could out the door. Liam followed her shouting,

“Who’s it for?”

“Stiles.” She managed to throw over her shoulder. Liam immediately picked up his pace. They ran past Kira’s car, ignoring her questions. Malia ran faster when she saw Scott and Isaac standing next to his jeep. She could smell blood, Stiles’ blood. She ran around to the driver’s side of the car and felt slight relief that Stile’s wasn’t lying there dead. Her relief was quickly replaced by horror as she saw the words on the side of the car

We will kill you all

“Please don’t tell me that is written in what I think it’s written in.” Isaac said staring at the letters. The lack of response was answer enough. The four stood unable to look away from the gruesome text as Kira ran up.

“Is that…” she started but trailed off

“It’s blood. It’s Stiles’ blood.” Scott responded to her unasked question.

“Oh god” Malia found herself unable to catch her breath, black spots came across her vision as she thought about what it meant. “Oh god…they’re going to…kill him. They have Stiles…and they are going…to…kill…him.” She frantically tried to draw in breath. She swayed and felt two strong hands grasp her arms. She looked up into the fierce red eyes of Scott.

“No they are not, we are going to find him. Malia listen to me, breathe, we will find him, but I need you to focus and tell me what Gerard said to you. Breathe, Malia, breathe.” She closed her eyes and focus her breathing, she knew she needed to stay calm and focused if they had a prayer of finding Stiles.

“We have to find him Scott” She said breathily as her breathing slowly returned to normal.

“We will, but first tell me everything Gerard said to you.”

*****

He woke to a bucket of freezing cold water being thrown onto him. He gasped and tried to move but found himself tied to a chair. His still groggy brain tried to figure out what was happening. He noticed a burning feeling on his forearm and looked down to see blood.  


“Good to see that you are awake Stiles.” Stiles turned in the direction of the voice but all he could see was a figure illuminated in the door way. “Sorry about the cut, we had to leave a little message for your pack.”  


“Wh-what are you going to do to them?” Stiles asked, his voice wavering more than he would like it to.  


“I think the more appropriate question would be what am I going to do to you? Do you know how excited I was to hear that the Alpha’s second was a human? Humans are so much easier to kidnap and torture. The only downside is that you don’t heal like they do so we won’t be able to have quite as much fun.” The hunter walked towards Stiles and kneeled in front of him. Stiles tried not to be scared by the manic look he saw in the man’s eyes. He had to focus on protecting his friends.  


“I won’t tell you anything.” His voice came out stronger now  


“Oh you will tell me everything about Scott McCall and his little patchwork pack. In time you will tell me everything.”  


“Never” Stiles said and spit in his face. The man gave him an evil smile and grabbed his chin, his fingers biting into Stiles’ skin hard enough to bruise.  


“Oh I love the fighters, we are going to have a lot of fun Stiles.” Then he pulled back his hand and punched Stiles square in the temple.


	9. Chapter 9

Stiles woke to more water. This time his head was throbbing but he knew what was happening. He looked around the small room he was in, trying to look for any clues as to where he was, but the plain concrete walls gave nothing away.

“They’re not going to find you.” The same man as before sneered at him. So far Stiles had only seen him, but he knew there had to be more.

“They will find me, and when they do, you’ll be sorry.”

“Ah but I don’t have to fear for my life now do I? Incorruptible Scott McCall doesn’t kill people, and I’ll bet he has trained his pack to do the same.” Stiles didn’t respond to that, knowing that the man was baiting him and not wanting to give away any information. Instead he asked a question of his own.

“If you know all about us then why do you need me?”

“Well you see, Gerard only had bits and pieces of the information, and what he did have came from outside sources. I need to know the inner workings of the pack, its strengths and weaknesses, interpack dynamics, what each and every member is like. You see we didn’t do well enough last time. We didn’t realize that the pack was so split that half the betas would abandon it and their Alpha and run. It’s so unnatural for a wolf to want to leave its pack, and to do so while it is under attack is something that never occurred to us. We can’t afford to make the mistakes this time. No, this time we will do it right, with your help Stiles we will take down the entire pack.

“Oh just shut up please. I was prepared for torture, but this is just agony.” Stiles lashed out, masking how terrified he was. If the man kept talking about hurting his friends he was going to lose it.

“If its torture you want, I can give you torture.” Stiles watched in horror as the man turned around and picked up a lighter and a metal rod. “We’ll start with something simple” the man said as he flicked on the lighter and held it below the end of the rod. “Jordan Parrish, Gerard knew he was supernatural but had no idea what he was. So what is he?”  
“We don’t know” Stiles said giving the truthful answer. But apparently the man didn’t believe him because he stepped closer to Stiles. He brought the rod close to Stiles’ neck. He tried to pull away but the man grabbed his hair. Stiles could feel the heat coming off of the metal.

“What is he?”

“Okay, wait, stop, we really don’t know, I’m telling the truth, we don’t know.” Stiles bite his lip to keep from crying out as the rod connected to the tender skin on his neck. His body convulsed and twisted, trying to get away from the searing pain. Finally the man stepped back, the pain lessened slightly as the rod was taken away.

“Want to try that again?” His captor sneered, flicking on the lighter again.

“Look I’m telling you the truth. We don’t know what he is, he doesn’t know what he is, all we know is that he was on the dead pool.” Stiles was sweating now, the sweat trickled down his neck onto his burn, making it sting more than it already did.

“I think you know more than you are saying.” The man stepped forward again, this time he pressed the rod against Stiles’ cut on his forearm. Stiles gasped in pain, he closed his eyes waiting for it to end. He felt a stinging pain against his cheek as the man slapped him. That made his still aching head hurt even more. He opened his eyes and looked down to see that the rod had been taken off his arm. It didn’t feel like it though, his arm still burned like it was still there. “Tell me what you know Stiles.” The man said. Stiles couldn’t help but flinch as he flicked on the lighter.

“I don’t know anything.” He said weakly, then the rod was against his thigh, he watched in horror as his jeans caught on fire. He frantically waved his leg, trying to put it out. The man watched in amusement for a few seconds before throwing some water on it. Stiles sank into the chair, he felt each burn painfully throbbing.

“You have so much more skin and I’m a patient man. What is Jordan Parrish?”

“Don’t know” The man gave him a sadistic smile as he flicked on the lighter again.

*****

“Why would they take Stiles?” Kira asked back in the loft.

“Well he probably knows more about the pack then anybody and besides Lydia he’s the weakest, plus he’s more important to Scott than Lydia is.” They all turned to glare at Isaac.

“If Stiles was here he would tell you that you are not helping.” Lydia bit back angrily.

“I know, I know, I’m just stating facts…I’m sorry” Malia saw surprise on Lydia’s face and assumed apologizing was something Isaac rarely did. She felt anger and panic coming from the boy. She could tell that behind his façade of indifference he really did care.

“I texted Argent and Derek updating them on the situation. I’m hoping that it is now drastic enough to bring them back, but we’ll see.” Scott said quietly. Malia looked around at the hopeless faces of the pack, none of them seemed to know where to start. Times like this was usually when Stiles said something either really stupid to break the tension or really clever to get the creative juices flowing. She was incapable of doing either of those things.

“What do we do?” She said, “We have to find him, we have to do something.” Angry at their lack of response she punched a wall, breaking the wall and her hand. She shook it out and walked onto the balcony, needing some fresh air. She was surprised to see that Liam had followed her.

“We will find him Malia, we always do.”

“Yeah but how soon?” She said turning to look at him “You know what they are going to do to him right? They aren’t just going to lock him in a cell and wait to be found. They took him for a reason. Like Isaac said he knows a lot about the pack. What if they torture him for information?” She saw Liam flinch lightly at her words. She took a deep breath, trying to calm herself down. She had to remember that she wasn’t the only one who cared about Stiles. 

“There was this one time where Stiles confronted Peter about you. It was after you had found out that he was your father. Stiles went to Peter to warn him against trying any funny business with you.” Malia looked at Liam in surprise as he started talking; she had never known Stiles had done that. “He would have gone alone except Scott figured out what he was doing. He sent me because he was tied up with something else. Stiles didn’t want me there, but I can be pretty persistent when I want to be.” Liam gave her a cocky smile and she shook her head, wondering why he was telling her this.

“Stiles was incredible, I was in awe of him. I mean here he was, standing up against a big scary werewolf, not a trace of fear. It was a little frightening watching him because he egged Peter on slightly recklessly.”

“Slightly?” Malia said raising her eyebrow.

“Alright, maybe more than slightly. But my point is that he didn’t back down. Even when Peter pinned him against a wall he still kept threatening to bring him down if he hurt you. Seriously that man has a way with words.”

“If your point is that Stiles has a death wish, I already knew that.” She said thinking back to all of the times that Stiles had foolishly run straight into the path of danger with nothing more than a bat to protect him.

“No my point is that he is strong, maybe not physically, but he is strong-willed. He won’t back down and he won’t give in. If they are torturing him they won’t be able to break him. He will be able to hold on until we find him. And we will find him.” Liam put his hand over hers where it was resting on the wall of the balcony. She was thankful for the comfort he was offering her. She knew he was right. Stiles is strong, he had faced countless dangers, including a dark spirit that had used his mind as a battleground, and had come out on top.

The only thing was she knew what would happen when he refused to answer their questions. His stubbornness and sarcasm was going to lead to him getting hurt. They had to find him, and soon.

*****

“Okay, okay” Stiles gasped, leaning as far away from the hot metal next to his cheek as possible. His body burned in more places than he could count. “All we know about Parrish is that another deputy tried to burn him alive and he somehow survived.” He flinched as the metal moved slightly closer. “That’s all we know! I promise!” He said frantically. To his relief the man smiled and moved away.

“See, was that really so hard?” Stiles gave him a look but refrained from making any remark. “Get some rest Stiles, I’ll have more questions for you tomorrow.” The man said as he put the tools down and walked to the door. He flipped the light off so all that Stiles could see was his outline against the hallway light. “And tomorrow I’m going to be a bit less patient.” With that he shut the door, leaving Stiles in the pitch blackness.

Stiles knew he needed to get some sleep, he needed to be as alert as possible for tomorrow. If he let his guard down even a little he could let another secret slip. If they figured out what Parrish was and he got hurt because of it, Stiles would never forgive himself.

He tried to get as comfortable as one could be tied to a chair, but between his aching body and racing mind he knew he would not be able to fall asleep for a long time.


	10. Chapter 10

“We have to tell his dad,” Malia said softly when she had calmed down slightly and reentered the loft.

“He’ll probably be at the Sheriff’s station by now,” Scott said looking at his watch, “I’ll come with you,”

“I’ll drive you guys,” Parrish spoke up “I have to go to work anyways, and the Sheriff will probably be wanting an explanation from me.” Malia saw him flinch at the idea. He had wanted to tell the Sheriff about their plan with Gerard, but Stiles had been insistent. He didn’t want to put his dad in any danger. Jordan hadn’t liked it, but Stiles had left him little choice, he could be very convincing when he wanted to.

“We’ll make sure he knows that you had no choice but to leave him in the dark” Scott assured him

“He knows what his son is like, he won’t be upset at you,” Lydia said squeezing Jordan’s arm gently. Malia noticed the look that passed between the two of them with curiosity, making a mental note to ask Lydia about that later.

“What should the rest of us do?” Liam asked

“Someone should fill Deaton in about the situation,” Scott said

“I’ll do that” Liam responded, looking relieved to have something solid to do.

“I’ll come with you,” Mason said, looking as if he just wanted to get out of the loft and do some field work, Malia couldn’t blame him.

“The rest of you can start making a list of places where he might be, abandon buildings or something like,” Scott said with a shrug. Malia could tell he knew how pointless of an idea that was. Beacon Hills was too big of a place to make something like that practical. It was like that work that she was given in class that was just to take up time so the teacher could pretend that they had accomplished something. It always made Stiles grumble under his breath. Busy work he called it. Scott was giving them busy work to make them feel like they were helping.

“We can also see where any of the hunters we know of have been seen” Lydia suggested. Malia thought that seemed like a better idea. Scott must've thought so too as he smiled at her and nodded.

“Ready?” Parrish asked putting his hand on her shoulder. She nodded and the three of them walked out to his car. They were all silent for the entire car ride as they were all caught up in their own thoughts. Malia barely noticed when the car came to a stop in front of the station. Parrish turned to look at her and Scott. “Ready?” He asked again. She nodded, but Scott sat looking straight ahead, she heard a hitch in his breathing. Jordan leaned over and squeezed his arm. “Hey, it’s going to be okay.”

“It’s just; the Sheriff has been through so much. I have had to tell him way too many times that Stiles was missing. When he was sleepwalking and when he was taken over by the Nogitsune. Now I have to tell him that his son is not only missing, but kidnaped. He’s just been through so much…” Scott took a deep breath trying to center himself.

“We,” Malia said

“What?” Scott turned to look at her.

“We are going to tell him about Stiles. You aren’t alone Scott, we’re here for you.” Malia tried to sound brave, even though she knew that telling the Sheriff was going to be one of the most painful things she had experienced.

“That’s right, and the Sheriff is a strong man, he will make it through,” Parrish added. Scott nodded at them and pushed open his door. Malia and Parrish followed suit. Malia grabbed Scott’s hand as they looked anxiously at the entrance. He squeezed her hand and they walked into the Sheriff’s station.

******

They didn’t need to douse Stiles with water this time on account of the fact that he hadn’t slept a wink. He had gotten really use to not sleeping a lot in the past few years. Many nights chasing monsters and then going to school the next morning meant he had perfected the art of functioning on sleep deprivation.

Unfortunately, the fact that he was awake didn’t stop the man from throwing the bucket of freezing water on him. Stiles sputtered, blowing the water out of his face and blinking it out of his eyes. It took him a couple seconds to realize there were three people in the room: the man who had been torturing him, a red-haired man, and a woman.

“We are going to try a different tactic today Stiles. The others feel that your interrogation is going too slowly, so we are going to step it up a bit.” The man who had been torturing him spoke, giving a side glance at the woman. She nodded at them and the two men moved forward. They began untying him, when they had finished they each grabbed one of his arms and yanked him up. He began struggling and one of them punched him in the side. He would have doubled over in pain, but they held him firmly up and he was no match for their strength. They dragged him over to the wall and pushed him against it. Then they brought his arms above his head and enclosed them in manacles. 

“Get out” the woman said once they had finished. Giving Stiles a sneer, his torturer followed the ginger out and closed the door behind him. Stiles turned his attention to the woman; he had a sinking feeling in his stomach as he watched her take out a knife. “Stiles, Stiles, Stiles.” She said walking towards him. “You are a stubborn one aren’t you?” She brought her hand up to his cheek and stroked it gently. He jerked his head away and she dropped her hand. “I’m going to warn you Stiles, I don’t enjoy torture as much as Cooper does.” 

“I doubt anyone does.” Stiles said making a note of his torturer's name.

“Yes, well, unfortunately for you that means that I would like to get this over with as soon as possible. That means that I won’t be as patient as Cooper either.” Stiles froze as the meaning of her words sunk in. She wasn't going to toy with him as Cooper had, she was going to get right down to business. She brought the knife up to his throat. “So make this easier on yourself and just answer my questions.” In response Stiles brought his knee up and connected with her stomach, she sputtered and backed up.

“You bastard” She spat. She recovered quickly and before Stiles could react she brought her leg up and kicked him full force in the stomach. He began coughing violently and dry heaving. He would have thrown up if he had anything in his stomach. He still hadn’t caught his breath when she kicked his feet out from under him. He fell so that the chains around his wrists were the only thing holding him up. He tried to regain his footing, but she punched him in the face, causing his head to slam against the wall. 

“You don’t have to make this so hard on yourself handsome.” She said as she backed away, he slowly got his feet under him again and stood up.

“Well…I’m certainly…not going to make…it easier for you.” He said trying to catch his breath.

“I have to say, I might admire your resistance if it wasn’t such a huge pain in my ass.” She step forward and brought the knife to his cheek, slowly pulling it across. He winced at the pain and felt blood begin to drip. “Now tell me the names of every member of your pack.” She said, finally getting to the interrogation part of the torture.

“Scott McCall, Jordan Parrish, Lydia Martin…” He listed the people he knew that they would know about.

“Who else?”

“Kira Yukimura and Malia Tate.” He said watching her reaction.

“You mean Malia Hale?” She said, confirming his suspicions that she knew about both of them.

“Yes Hale…oh and those three omegas you let slip through your fingers.” That comment earned him a slice on his thigh.

“What about Peter and Derek Hale?” Stiles considered lying but decided the truth would be better. That way if Scott managed to get a hold of Derek the hunters would be in for a nasty surprise.

“Peter is locked away in Eichen House and I haven’t seen Derek since Mexico.”

“Do you know what he is doing?”

“No, if you’ve ever met him you would know how poor of a conversationalist his is. He also has a habit of disappearing without telling us.” He lied smoothly, in truth he knew exactly what Derek was doing. He wasn’t sure if she believed him, but she dropped the topic anyways.

“What about Isaac Lahey?”

“Haven’t seen him since he went to France after Allison died.”

“You sure about that?”

“Do you know what he looks like? He’s a freaking tree; I think I would notice if he were around.” The woman slammed him against the wall, placing her forearm against his throat. He tried to struggle against her but froze when he felt the knife against his side.

“Tell the truth Stiles.” She pressed harder against his throat.

“I…am…” He gasped.

“No, you aren’t, we saw him entering Derek’s loft with you the other day,” She released the pressure against his throat but still kept him pinned. “Oh yeah, we know all about the loft.” She said noting the glint of fear in his eyes.

“Why do you need me if you know everything already?”

“To confirm what we know and fill in the gaps about what we don’t. You also have the double advantage of sending your pack into a frenzy. They are more worried about saving you than they are about taking us down. All their energy is going into finding you, but Stiles, they are never going to find you.” She grabbed his chin and forced him to look at her “Now tell me who else is in your pack.”

“No one, that’s it.” The words were barely out of his mouth when she stepped back, pulling the knife along his side as she did it. He cried out as it sliced through his thin t-shirt.

“I think you’re forgetting about a certain little beta and his friend, what did he call him? Oh, I remember, Mason. What is Mason? Did Scott bite him too?”

“No, he’s just a kid, he’s just a human boy who got dragged into all of this because his best friend turned into a werewolf.”

“Aw that sounds familiar doesn’t it? The only difference is, Mason wasn’t the one who got his friend bitten.” Stiles refused to let her make him feel guilty. Scott didn’t blame him and he didn’t blame himself, seriously there was no way he could’ve known a freaking Alpha werewolf was out wandering the woods that night looking for people to turn.

“Alright that’s it, that is everyone in the pack.” Stiles said being fully honest this time.

“Well, that’s one question down at least. I’m beginning to see why Cooper had such a hard time with you yesterday. Now tell me about the relationships in the pack.”

“What?”

“Don’t play dumb with me Stiles. You are a group of teenagers with raging hormones; I know most of you must’ve paired off by now. So tell me who is dating who.”

“None of us are dating each other specifically. We all just kind of get together in Derek’s loft and have a huge orgy.” He said bracing himself for her reaction. She put her hand against his chest and pushed him back, she was about to cut his arm when she stopped. Stiles winced when she ran her hand along his chest, realizing that she could feel his scars.

“Well, what do we have here?” She put her knife against the collar of his shirt and sliced it in half. She took a step back to look at the cuts across his chest, he knew she could tell they were fairly recent.

“One of the omegas get to you before your Alpha got them under control?” She guessed. He didn’t respond, but she took his silence as confirmation. “See Stiles, this is exactly why I do what I do. These creatures are dangerous to everyone around them.”

“They don’t have to be, Scott has never hurt anyone and he can teach them control.”

“You have seen a lot in your short years in this life, but I have seen a lot more. They are violent beings and eventually their nature will catch up to them. It always happens.” 

“Not with Scott.” Stiles shook his head vehemently. 

“I won’t try to convince you because I know you won’t believe me, but it will happen someday Stiles.” She ran a hand along his bare chest and he had to resist the urge to shiver, “Now tell me who is dating.”

“We don’t really have time for dating.” Stiles said, which was half true. She gave him a sickly sweet smile and cocked her head at him.

“You know how those scars would look cooler? If I made them look like Wolverine’s symbol. You know Wolverine from the X-Men right?” Stiles started struggling frantically as he realized what she was saying, but it was no use. He screamed as her knife sliced across his chest.


	11. Chapter 11

“I never want to do that ever again,” Malia said as she and Scott exited the Sheriff’s station. Seeing the Sheriff reaction to their news had almost broken her, especially since she was barely holding it together in the first place.

“Let’s hope that was the last time,” Scott said with a grimace. Parrish had offered to give them a ride back to the Loft, but they decided they both could use some fresh air. So they were walking to Scott’s house to get his bike. They walked without talking for a while, both immersed in their own thoughts. Finally, Malia broke the silence, 

“How did you meet Stiles? 

“He never told you?”

“Nope." 

“He’s probably embarrassed. We met in the sandbox when we were around 3. I had built this incredible sand castle that I was extremely proud of. Enter Stiles, he comes racing into the sandbox, not even noticing as he runs right through my castle. Needless to say, I got upset and started yelling and crying which made Stiles start yelling and crying back. A typical 3-year-old meltdown where we both thought the world was ending. Our mothers came rushing over and quickly figured out what had happened. Trying not to laugh they encouraged us to build a castle together that was even better than the one Stiles had trampled. They even sat down in the sand with us and helped us. Stiles and I became instant friends and our moms also hit it off.” Scott told the story with a smile.

“You remember all of that?”

“No, not really, but goodness knows our mothers loved telling that story. I’ve heard it enough that it’s almost like I remember it.”

“Did you know her well? Stiles’ mom? He never talks about her.”

“Yeah, she was like a second mom to me. She was beautiful, Stiles gets his brown eyes from her. She also was one of the kindest persons I have ever met. She never got mad at us when we did something stupid, but she would give us this disappointed look that had us scrambling to make up for what we did wrong.”

“She sounds amazing.”

“She was, and she would’ve really liked you Malia.” Malia felt a sudden feeling of loss for the woman whom she had never gotten the chance to meet.

“I wish I could’ve met her.” She said quietly

“Losing her was one of the hardest things I had ever experienced, but my pain was nothing compared to what Stiles and his dad went through. They sort of lost her before she died you know.”

“Because of the Dementia?” Malia had researched it in length as it was one of the few things she knew about Claudia Stilinski.

“Yes, Frontotemporal Dementia caused Mrs. Stilinski to change a lot. The main way that it affects people is in their personality and behavior. At first the changes were not as noticeable, it almost just seemed like she had depression, but as she grew worse and worse it was a lot harder to watch. Mrs. Stilinski had always been such an incredibly kind and caring and compassionate person, but her disease took that away from her."

"It can cause lack of judgment and inhibition, apathy, lack of awareness of thinking or behaviors, which all contribute to overall increasingly inappropriate actions." Malia recited slightly mechanically remembering what she had read online.

"Yes, the hardest for Stiles was the apathy. He suddenly found himself with a mother that no longer had the patience or kindness to deal with her hyper young son."

"Poor Stiles" Malia had thought about all of this when she looked up the disease, but hearing Scott's first-hand account made it all the more real.

"He stayed with her though, even when she said something cruel or made fun of him. He made sure to go to the hospital as much as he possibly could. I would often walk in and see tears running down his face and Mrs. Stilinski obliviously watching TV. He wasn't crying because the words hurt him, but because they meant that he was losing his mother, more and more every day."

"Why does he blame himself?" Malia had sensed it a few different times, guilt washing over him when he brought up his mother, but she could never figure out why.

"I think he thinks he made it worse by staying with her. I think he thinks that he only antagonized the situation and caused her to regress faster. He thinks it was selfish of him to have forced his presence on her up until the end when it only made things worse."

"But that can't be true!"

"It's not, my mom says that he probably helped her stay herself for longer. She has told him that over and over, but even though his brain knows it to be true, his heart will not let go of the guilt. He refuses to talk about it." Scott shrugged his shoulders and gave her a helpless look that reflected her feelings. When they got Stiles back safe and sound she vowed to try to help him deal with his guilt, she had no idea how to go about it, but she was going to try.

*****

When they released Stiles from the shackles on the wall he fell to the floor in a heap. They didn't even bother tying him back to the chair because they knew he wasn't going anywhere. He slowly shifted onto his back to try to relieve the pain from the four new cuts across his chest. He took what remained of his tattered shirt and pressed it against them, crying out in pain as he did it.

He had once again ended up telling her what she wanted to know, explaining all of the relationships in the pack, even his and Malia's. He wanted to throw up at the thought of betraying them. He had no idea what he was going to do when they started asking him real questions. But right now he was too tired to care, every part of him burned and all he wanted to do was take a break from the pain for a while.

His eyes drifted shut and he fell into a fitful sleep.

"Good luck Stiles" Malia came up and kissed him on the lips "I know you'll do amazing tonight." She gave him a tight hug and whispered into his ear what her personal reward would be after the game. Stiles felt his face grow hot and was glad he had a helmet to put on. He sent her one last smile and ran over to join the team. Scott and Liam clapped him on the back when he got there. He looked at Kira to find her staring at him with a horrified expression on his face.

"Kira...what's wrong?" He asked nervously. He looked around to find the rest of his teammates including Scott and Liam looking at him with the same horrified expression. "Guys what's up?" He backed a few steps back from them. He looked towards the stands trying to find Malia, but she was nowhere to be seen. "Where's Malia?" He asked trying to divert attention away from himself as they were all just looking at him. Finally, Scott lifted up his arm and pointed at Stiles.

"Stiles, I think you should lie down."

"What? What are you tal-" Stiles stopped when he looked down. His cuts on his chest were all bleeding, leaving a red X shape on his jersey. As soon as he saw the blood he began to feel the pain. The pain felt a thousand times worse now than it did when he had gotten the cuts. He fell to his knees and started screaming.

He woke up screaming and panicked when he couldn't move. He could see a few shapes above him. His chest was burning.

"Damn, I was hoping he'd be asleep for longer. I don’t have any left...Cooper if you wouldn't mind?" Stiles heard a voice say, but it sounded murky and far away, he didn't really understand what was happening. Then he saw a shape get closer, he had just managed to recognize him as his first torturer before his head was lifted up and slammed back onto the ground.

*****

"Why doesn't Stiles ever let his father help? I get that he's being protective, but he is the Sheriff and he can protect himself more than Stiles can." Malia said in a frustrated voice. Letting the Sheriff in on the plan would have saved them that awful experience, plus maybe the Sheriff could've helped save Stiles.

"Stiles was the only one with his mother when he died you know" Malia stopped in her tracks when Scott spoke. She hadn't known that and this was not the answer she had anticipated getting.

"Where was his father?"

"There was a motor vehicle accident at the same time and he was away dealing with that. My mom forced me to go home for the night, but she knew Stiles would not leave until his dad arrived. They had made a promise that every night the would both come to say goodnight to Mrs. Stilinski. They knew their time was limited and wanted to make the most of what they had left. My mom was doing rounds in the children's ward when she heard the call. She rushed to Mrs. Stilinski room as fast as she could. The doctors and nurses were already doing what needed to be done so she focused on Stiles. He was standing next to his overturned chair staring at his mom. He wasn't doing anything, not crying, not screaming, my mom wasn't even sure he was breathing."

"Oh my god," Malia whispered, she could not even fathom going through what he went through.

"He was small for his age so she picked him up and took him into the hall. For a couple terrifying seconds he just stood there staring at her. Then he dissolved into hysterics and had his first ever panic attack. My mom eventually managed to calm him down and while she was calling my father to tell what happened, Stiles' father arrived. My mom told me that she had never seen a hug that broke her heart more than the one they shared, both of them clinging on to each other as tightly as possible." Malia could almost see it in her mind's eye. She had certainly seen her fair share of Stilinski hugs, some filled with a certain amount of desperation and worry. Their hugs took on more meaning with what Scott had told her.

"No wonder he's so protective of his dad."

"His dad is his only remaining family member and he can't watch both of his parents die. That's why he will go to great lengths to keep his father out of harms way. He could never live with himself if his father got hurt because Stiles got him involved in a plan. He knows its irrational and he knows his father can protect himself, but he also knows the danger that goes along with our lives and he can't take the risk of bringing in his father."

"I understand," Malia said, and she did. She may not have fully understood before but after hearing Stiles' story from Scott she definitely understood now. "Thank you, Scott." She hooked her arm in his and they finished their journey in companionable silence.


	12. Chapter 12

Stiles was confused and groggy when he woke up, but he was brought out of his haze fairly quickly by the pain in his chest. He looked down at his chest to see that someone had sewn up the new slashes. He knew they couldn’t have him bleeding out, he was so much more valuable to them alive. At least for the moment, he needed to be careful to make sure that he continued to be useful, because the moment he wasn’t, he was dead.

The door swung open and he jerked instinctively, the slight movement sending stabs of pain all throughout his body. He lifted up his head slightly and saw a man in glasses whom he had never seen before.

“Oh good, you’re awake.” He brought with him a glass of water and a plate of food. He knelt next to Stiles and helping him into a sitting position. A few painful moments later Stiles was leaning heavily against the wall looking warily at the new hunter.

“Are you the one who…” He gestured to his chest

“Stitched you up? Yes I am. We need you injured, not dead. Clarisse is a little knife happy. I’m sorry about your head, our supplies are running out, I had a small amount of sedative left but you still woke up before I was finished, screaming bloody murder, might I add. Cooper had to knock you out before you ripped all of your stitches out. You had some nasty wounds on your chest, side, cheek, and leg.” The man said with a grimace. Stiles thought that the man almost might feel bad for him and his tone suggested his disapproved of Clarisse’s methods or at least the extremity of them.

“What…” Stiles started, but his words got caught in his dry throat. He began coughing, each one painfully ripping through his body.

“Here drink” The man held up the glass to his mouth, which he gladly accepted. When Stiles had finished the man pushed the plate towards him. “Eat, you must be starving.” Stiles gladly took the food and even though he was starving he began eating it slowly because he knew going too fast could cause him to throw up and he wasn't sure when he would get food next.

“You’re different than the others.” He said with his mouth full.

“Well let’s just say that I don’t think kidnapping a human boy and torturing him is the most moral thing for a hunter to do.”

“Happened to me before...although that only included a few punches.” Stiles said bitterly

“Look I have to go, but I’d suggest you make this easier on yourself and just tell them what they want to know. They have almost all the information anyways and what they want they will get, one way or another.” The man in glasses gave him a grave look, something about the way he said that made Stiles do a double take.

“What do you mean?”

“I mean if they can’t break you they will be forced to take someone else, perhaps the new little beta. Werewolves are a lot easier to torture because they are a lot less delicate, they can endure a lot more pain than you and survive.” The man took the empty plate and glass and left Stiles to his thoughts. Stiles knew that he would have to play it perfectly. He had to stay alive for long enough for his pack to find him, but he had to give enough information so that the hunters didn’t resort to kidnapping Liam or anyone else. Stiles couldn’t let anyone else go through this, he was suffering so much to protect his friends, not bring them harm.

He just hoped they found him soon. He didn’t know how much more he could take. Lydia would probably be able to find him when he was close to death, but he wasn’t sure how much time he had between being close to death and actually dead.

*****

Malia was sitting on Stiles’ bed when Lydia walked in. The girl looked a little startled to see her sitting there.

“Scott dropped me off here...I just didn’t feel like going to the loft yet.”

“I understand, I just came here to see, I just thought maybe being closer to him I could…”

“Get some banshee feeling as to where he is?” Malia provided.

“We weren’t having any luck with anything else, I might be Stiles’ best chance of being found, I just don’t know what I’m supposed to do.” Lydia gave a shaky huff of frustration and sat next to Malia. Malia wasn’t exactly sure how to respond. She had tried before to help the banshee figure something out and had no luck. She decided instead to address the guilt she could feel coming from her friend, guilt for not being able to help enough.

“Lydia this is not your fault, no one blames you for not being able to find him.”

“I blame me!” She got up again and started pacing “What good are these powers if I can’t use them to save Stiles. God he’s normally the one who helps me figure this out. How am I supposed to do this without him?” Malia had no answer for her. She had been wondering the same thing since he was taken. Stiles was the clever one, the one who consistently came through and figured things out, now he was counting on them figuring something out and they were failing him.

“We’ll figure it out Lydia” She eventually said, she knew the words sounded empty but she needed to say something. Lydia walked around Stiles’ room, she looked at the clear board he had with all of the hunters’ information that Remy had compiled, she fingered through the school work on his desk, and looked at the posters on his walls, but Malia could tell that nothing was sparking any kind of knowledge. Lydia turned back to her with a hopeless expression on her face.

“I know I can do this, I’m just not sure how.”

“Maybe that just means that he’s not in incredible danger or near to death,” Malia said hopefully.

“Yeah...maybe,” Lydia said, but she didn’t sound convinced. She sat again next to Malia and for a while the two girls sat in silence. Malia stared at the board that Stiles had filled up with pictures of hunters, red tape, and his sprawling handwriting. Seeing his handwriting sparked a sadness in her, it was just so personal, so Stiles. His handwriting perfectly described his personality, it was hurried and messy but still legible. Malia looked at every single paper, memorizing the faces of the hunters. The faces of those who had hurt Stiles and whom she would hurt in return when she got the chance.

“Maybe we could go for a drive? Stiles said you once found him when he was dying by automatic driving.”

“I’ve never tried doing it on purpose...it might work, at any rate it's better than just sitting here.” Lydia stood up and picked up her jacket and Malia followed suit. But before either girl could move out of the door, Lydia’s phone rang. “It’s Scott,” She said to Malia, “Hello?” Malia tried to focus her hearing but could only hear garbled sounds coming out of Lydia’s phone. “I’m with Malia….they got your messages?...we will be right over.”

“What is it?” Malia asked the second she hung up the phone.

“We have to head over to the loft. They’re back?”

“Derek and Braeden?”

“Derek and Braeden and Argent.”


	13. Chapter 13

Dawson watched as Olivia blatantly flirted with Liam. Any other time he might have found it incredibly amusing and teased her for it, but at this moment he just hoped Scott didn’t notice and get angry at them. It was hardly the time to be focusing on little crushes, not when Stiles was missing.

Still, Dawson had to admit that he enjoyed seeing Olivia filled with life again. He hadn’t known her that well before they were all bitten. Olivia had only slightly been on his radar because she was related to Remy, and everyone knew who Remy was. He had been one of the most popular kids in school. Dawson’s only memories of Olivia were of a cute young girl who was always laughing.

The Olivia he had met after they were bitten was considerably different. He was bitten first so he was already in the pack when they arrived. Over time the three of them had gotten close, along with a few other teenagers who had been turned. Olivia had gotten back a bit of her sunny disposition and chatter, but it wasn’t until they had become a part of Scott’s pack that she really seemed happy. Dawson knew they had Liam to thank in part for that, his attention and done wonders for Olivia.

“This is hopeless” Dawson looked up as Isaac threw down his laptop. They had all been searching for hours with no luck. Liam and Mason had returned from Deaton's with no new information, Scott had come back from telling the Sheriff without Malia looking like the weight of the world was on his shoulders, and Lydia had stormed out of the loft a little while ago. Dawson looked around at the hopeless expressions on everyone’s faces. They had known searching for Stiles this way was a long shot, but they were all steadily losing faith that they would ever be able to find him.

Dawson could feel the pain coming from every member of Scott’s pack, even Remy, Olivia, and himself were in pain over Stiles’ kidnapping. They had only known Stiles for a short amount of time, but he had certainly made an impact. Dawson had found his sarcasm and wit utterly amusing, but the best part was that Stiles treated the 3 newcomers no differently than the rest of the pack. He bantered and interacted with them like he had known them for years. The entire pack was civil to them, but Stiles really had accepted them.

“It’s not hopeless” Remy spoke up, and Dawson was incredibly glad for him at that moment. Remy was always there to say the right thing to make people feel better, a skill that Dawson did not possess. “We've finished our list of all of the abandoned buildings in Beacon Hills, I know it's a lot but we can split up in pairs and search them. We will find him eventually.”

“Remy’s right, we can’t give up hope, Stiles is counting on us to find him, and we will find him,” Scott said. Dawson was in awe of the boy, he had no idea how Scott was holding it all together, but he was. Dawson could see that he was making a honest effort to remain optimistic for his pack, he couldn’t let them see him lose hope because then they would as well. It was the Alpha’s job to keep up pack morale, it was a hard job and one that was not usually given to a teenager. Scott McCall was an incredible human being.

"Isaac can you help me split the buildings into sections? You know Beacon Hills better than I do." Remy asked, giving Isaac a job to distract him. The tall boy nodded and pulled a seat next to Remy.

“It’s not a very solid one, but at least it’s a plan,” Kira said, “Maybe you should call Lydia and Malia” She suggested to Scott. The boy nodded and took out his phone, but before he could hit a button, the loft door began to open.

Everyone in the room snapped to attention and eyes began to glow. Three unknown figures stepped into the doorway. Dawson remained ready to pounce until he saw the reactions of those around him. Everyone suddenly relaxed, Scott broke into a smile and grasped the hand of one of the men. Isaac threw himself into the arms of the other man who gripped him back tightly.

Dawson quickly figured out that these must be the people who Scott had been calling in for backup. He was wary about new faces, but if Scott trusted them, then so did he.

“Guys this is Derek, Braeden, and Argent,” Scott said with his hand on the shoulder of the one whom he had called Derek. “This is Remy, Dawson, and Olivia” Scott introduced them in turn. The three people regarded them solemnly.

“You sure you can trust them?” Derek said bluntly.

“Absolutely”

“They are the ones who brought the Hunter’s here?” The other man named Argent said.

“Yes, but we didn’t mean to bring harm to any of you” Remy spoke up to defend themselves “We would have died out on our own and thought the hunters would give up sooner than they have.”

“These hunters are not playing by any hunters’ rules.” Argent said, his eyes softening a bit.

“Do you know who they are?” Isaac asked him. Dawson remembered that he used to be a hunter and part of a very powerful family of hunters.

“Have you heard any family name or any other names mentioned?” Argent asked.

“Remy has made a list of the ones we know about with pictures of the ones we could find,” Dawson spoke for the first time. Remy turned his laptop towards them in response. Argent walked quickly over and looked at the screen. They all heard his intake of breath as he stepped back.

“You know them?” The woman named Braeden spoke up. Isaac had said she was a mercenary that had saved his life once and almost gotten killed for it. He assumed that’s how she got those freaking cool looking scars on her neck.

“Yes I know them, they aren’t a family, more of a group who shares similar life views.”

“Like that everything supernatural should be killed?” Kira asked.

“Exactly. They are a rogue group that goes around and kills anything supernatural. They usually establish themselves within a town, identify every supernatural, and then eliminate them systematically leaving no survivors. They are not normally as sloppy as this.”

“I don’t think they expected us to run, we abandoned our Alpha when the fighting started because he was horrible and we were planning on leaving anyways” Remy explained.

“They are ruthless and their life goal is to exterminate everything supernatural. You guys may have brought them to Beacon Hills, but if they were so close they probably would’ve heard about it anyways.” Dawson felt a sense of relief at his words, a weight that he didn’t realize he was holding lifted from his shoulders. Maybe the three of them didn’t have to take all of the blame for the current situation.

“I’m going to call everyone who’s not here and then we can all fill each other in,” Scott said pulling out his phone.

*****

Scott was wholly overwhelmed by the amount of people in the loft, yet the missing presence was even more overwhelming. All he wanted to do was scream and then curl up into a ball until it was all over, but he couldn’t afford that luxury. His best friend was counting on him, his pack was counting on him, and he had to keep it together for all of their sakes.

The arrival of backup had lifted everyone’s spirits. Scott felt a lot safer with Derek and Argent around. They, along with Deaton, were the most experienced when it came to the supernatural. Although this time they were not fighting something supernatural, they were fighting men. Men who had seen fit to kidnap his best friend.

He couldn’t argue that Stiles was harmless, that mind of his could cause a world of pain to whichever foe he chose. But Stiles’ only weapon was his mind, and that silly baseball bat which never ended up helping anyways. Stiles was a defenseless human teenager who was currently at the mercy of an insane group of rogue hunters.

“Scott, you ready?” Argent’s question brought him to the present, reminding him that he had to get the pack meeting started.

“Right, so it all started last full moon when Deaton got word of 3 Omegas roaming around the Preserve…” Scott went on to explain the whole situation to Derek, Argent, and Braeden with the occasional help of his fellow pack members. Chris Argent grimaced at the mention of his father and Malia’s account of her conversation with him. After they finished Argent filled in the rest of the pack about what he knew about the group of hunters.When he had finished there was a moment of silence as everyone let the information sink in.

“Why would they take Stiles?” Derek asked

“He’s the easiest to take, plus Gerard knows that he is Scott’s best friend and probably knows a lot about the pack.”

“It was probably Gerard’s idea,” Malia said bitterly

“Why would you say that?” Isaac asked as most of the pack turned to her questioningly, but Scott could tell where she was headed.

“He did it once before, the night Jackson stabbed himself, Gerard kidnaped Stiles off of the lacrosse field.”

“He’s the one who beat Stiles up, not people on the other team,” Scott added and Malia looked at him in surprise.

“You knew?”

“Of course, it didn’t take too much to put it together. I kept offering to talk about that night, but he vehemently refused so I eventually dropped it.” Scott was a little hurt that Stiles hadn’t chosen to confide in him.

“It’s because Gerard did it to hurt you. He hurt Stiles to send a message to you and Stiles didn’t want to give him the satisfaction of delivering the message” Malia explained. Scott nodded, that seemed like something that Stiles would do, suffer through it alone to protect Scott.

“They are going to torture him aren’t they?” He asked turning to Argent.

“Yes.”

“How long do we have?”  
“It’s hard to say. Stiles is stubborn and clever, so he will know to keep as much information as possible from them while keeping himself alive, but he’s also mouthy and obstinate which is going to cause him problems.” Chris told them plainly. Scott appreciated his honesty, although it stung hearing the words out in the open.

“We have to find him,” Liam said quietly. Scott felt the pain radiating from his beta. Scott was glad the two boys had finally put aside their differences and developed a friendship. Liam looked to Stiles for support and Stiles had grown quite fond of the boy.

“How do we find him?” Lydia asked and Scott flinched at the desperation in her voice.

“Actually, Isaac and I have been working on something” Remy spoke up.

“We made a list of all of the abandoned buildings and divided them into sections to search” Isaac put in.

“It will take a while unless we get lucky, but it seems like the only thing we can do right now,” Remy added.

“Chris?” Scott looked to the hunter for his thoughts.

“It’s as good of a place as any to start.”

“Okay, we will meet back here first thing in the morning,” Scott announced. He continued talking when they stirred as if they were going to object, “we are all exhausted and if we find where Stiles is being held we need to be ready for a fight. So go home, get some sleep, and we will all be fresh for the search in the morning.”

“Okay boss” Isaac responded, clapping him on the shoulder before standing up. The rest followed suit and slowly trickled out of the loft. Soon Derek, Braeden, Argent, Dawson, Remy, Olivia, Isaac, and Scott were all that remained.

“Uh...Derek, these three have been staying at the loft while you were gone, we didn’t think you would mind. They can crash at my house if you want until we find them more permanent housing.”

“That’s okay Scott, I don’t mind” Derek assured him.

“They can stay at my apartment if they want to sleep in real beds.” Argent offered “The place is too empty anyways, and the hunters won’t know to look for them at my place.”

“That’s true, what do you guys think?” Scott said. He didn’t want to put them in an awkward position considering they had just met Argent.

“I’m up for anything” Olivia piped up.

“You had me at real bed, I’m tired of that sofa,” Remy added “Dawson?” They turned to the boy who looked a little unsure, but he nodded his head nonetheless.

“I’m in.”

“Isaac you’re welcome to come as well” Argent added.

“Thank you, but if it’s okay I think I’ll go with Scott,” Isaac said, then he looked at Scott, “Is that alright?”

“Of course, you are always welcome at our house Isaac,” Scott said meaning it. In truth, he liked Isaac being at his house. It gave him great comfort knowing the boy was in the room next to his, it made him feel a little less alone.

Sleeping arrangements all settled, they all headed their separate ways for the night.

*****

Stiles had no idea how long he had been captured for. It felt like weeks, but he knew it was probably more along the line of days. The hunters were still continuing to take turns torturing him. So far he had met 5 of them, 4 torturers and the man who would patch him up and bring him food. The medicine man had told him that his torturers had been instructed to torture him but not to the point that they might kill him, those in charge were not happy with Clarisse’s aggressiveness.

Each torturer had their own unique style and each one had succeeded in eventually getting information out of him. Stiles hurt in so many places that his brain couldn’t really comprehend it, it just felt like his entire body was on fire. He wished he was past the point where he could feel new injuries, but unfortunately he wasn’t. He still felt every single new cut, bruise, and burn.

He felt water splash over him. Had he been asleep? Or were they just dousing him for fun?

“Wake up sunshine, it’s my turn” Stiles opened up his eyes to look up at the ginger man sneering at him. Stiles tried to think of a snappy response as the man pulled him up and chained him to the wall, but he couldn’t think of anything. “Let's play a game shall we Stiles? I’m going to give you a situation and you are going to tell me what your pack would do, understand?” Stiles stared back at the man, refusing to make this easy on him. As a reward for his stubbornness, the ginger shoved the object in his hand towards Stiles’ side. Stiles hissed and shook as the electricity pulsed through him. A Taser was the ginger’s favorite tool, set low enough that Stiles remained conscious but high enough that it caused searing pain. “Do you understand Stiles?”

“Yes,” he said through gritted teeth, his body still shaking no matter how he tried to still it.

“Okay then...So let’s say your pack was attacked at school, you end up getting separated from each other and cell phones aren’t working. Where would you go to look for them?”

“The loft” Stiles answered because it was obvious enough.

“What if they weren’t in the loft”

“The hospital”

“Not there either”

“Their houses”

“Nope.”

“I would go back and search the school again, check in the locker room. A lot of crap seems to happen there.”

“And what if they aren’t there?”

“I dunno, the morgue?” Stiles said tiredly.

“I’m glad you’re such a smart ass” The man said as he stuck the Taser into Stiles’ side again. He grinned in sick satisfaction as Stiles convulsed. After a few moments he asked, “Now where is the secret place where you would all meet up?”

“The Hale house, or least where it was.”

“Didn’t the county knock that old thing down?”

“Yes, but we still go there to do outdoor trainings and stuff, so if we ever got totally separated and had to stay off the grid that is where we would go.” The first part was true, but the second part was a total lie. The group agreed that if they were separated they would go to the lookout point, or if they had a Hale with them they would go to the vault. Luckily for Stiles the ginger was easy to fool. As long as Stiles resisted enough and told a convincing lie he would be believed. The other torturers weren’t as easy to fool, especially the woman Clarisse. She always knew when he was lying.

“Good, that’s good Stiles. Now I’ve got another situation for you…”

“Is this what you do during your free time?" Stiles interrupted him, " Do you sit by yourself and think of hypothetical situations to give me? What no one will talk to you? Are you a loner ginger?” Stiles taunted, his patience for this man’s games running thin. Unfortunately, it looked like he had struck a sensitive chord in the man. He kicked out and stomped on Stiles leg, colliding with the lower half in a sickening crunch. Stiles screamed as the pain exploded and spread up throughout his entire body. He vaguely saw the door crash open before he faded into blackness.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everyone! Thank you so much for reading this story, I am really excited to continue writing it! I made this chapter extra long to make up for the shortness of chapter 12.
> 
> Did you notice I added a few parts from a perspective other than Stiles and Malia? What do you think? The story will stay mostly with those two, but I will continue to add a few parts from different perspectives to add depth.
> 
> So I don't normally add Authors Notes since I think they interrupt the flow if someone is reading the story straight through and I will probably delete this one shortly but I just had a favor to ask of you beautiful people.
> 
> I am looking for some great fanfictions to read, preferably about Stalia, but I will also accept Sydia. Really anything Stiles related because I have a major crush and love reading about him, the only thing is that I don't really like reading Sterek.
> 
> Anyways...I am looking for recommendations from you lovelies, if you have come across any well-written fanfics with an interesting plot that you would be willing to share with me that would be awesome. They can be finished or unfinished, I just have been struggling with finding high-quality ones (Especially for Stalia)
> 
> So now that I have rambled a sufficient amount I will end this, look for the next part coming soon!


	14. Chapter 14

Lydia woke to her own screams and a pain unlike anything she had ever experienced. She knew what it meant, she could feel it. It was a feeling she had experienced only once before and had hoped to never feel again. Try as she might she couldn’t avoid what it meant, the consequences were too dire. Stiles was dying.

“Lydia?” A sleepy voice next to her asked. Lydia had let Malia sleep over since she knew she hated going home and had slept a lot at the Stilinski’s, plus she didn’t really want to be alone either. In truth, Lydia had been just as surprised by her offer as Malia had looked when she accepted it. The two girls may act civil towards each other, but Lydia knew there was tension there. So she wasn’t sure why she invited Malia over, maybe because they had bonded a bit that day or maybe because Malia was pack and she was hurting for the same reason as Lydia and it didn’t make sense for them to be alone. Regardless, she was there and Lydia had just woken her up with her screaming.

“It’s fine, just a nightmare. Sorry, I woke you.” Malia sat fully up looking at Lydia with an annoyingly concerned expression.

“Just a nightmare?”

“Yes just a nightmare, I’m just going to get a glass of water” Lydia abruptly stood up. She knew Malia could tell that she was lying, but she couldn’t say it out loud yet. She would tell the pack tomorrow morning, not that the information would change anything. Knowing would only cause them more pain, not help them find him sooner, but still they deserved to know what she knew.

She walked downstairs to get some water, but instead was distracted by her keys on the counter. Knowing she wouldn’t be getting any more sleep that night she felt the need to go for a drive. It was almost 5am and she figured she could go grab some bagels and coffee for the pack, maybe by the time she had finished it would be an appropriate hour to go over to Derek’s.

Lydia opened the door of her house and found Malia leaning against her car.

“Malia” Lydia sighed, “I told you I was fine, now go back to sleep.”

“You think I was asleep? I don’t think I slept more than 20 minutes the entire night.”

“I’m going to get food and coffee for the pack and then head over to the loft. Do you wanna join?” Lydia asked, resigned to the fact that the girl was not going to leave her alone.

“Yes please, anything to distract myself from my thoughts.” The two girls got in the car and drove in silence for a while, then Malia began talking,

“When Stiles and I first went public in school everyone was less than pleased.”

“How do you know?”

“I love being a werecoyote most of the time, but sometimes it's more of a curse than a blessing. Especially when it means I can hear every little piece of gossip whispered about me.” Lydia couldn’t imagine it. She knew people talked about her, teenagers were not nearly as sneaky as they thought they were, but she would never want to hear exactly what they were saying.

“What did they say?”

“Some said I wasn’t pretty enough to be with Stiles or that Stiles wasn’t hot enough to be with me. I didn’t care so much about these because I know we are both attractive people and I think there are a lot of factors other than looks that are more important.” Lydia glanced over to see the girl looking at her hands and twisting them together. She wondered if Malia had picked up that nervous habit from Stiles or if she did it naturally.

“What talk did you care about?”

“Some people said I wasn’t good enough to Stiles, which was true. I mean I’m trying to be good enough for him, but I was worried that might not be enough.”

“Malia, you have to know that isn’t true. First of all you might be a little rough around the edges but you are a good person. And Second the fact that you are trying means that you are good enough. Bad people don’t try to be better, they are okay with being bad.” Lydia hoped she had explained it in a way that Malia could understand. She looked over and saw the girl give her a small smile.

“Thank you, there was one other thing that bothered me at the time, but now I know was silly.”

“What was it?”  
“People said that Stiles could never fully love me because he had loved you for so long and part of him would always love you.”

“Malia that's…” Lydia tried to interject, but Malia pushed on.

“No, no it’s okay. Stiles explained it to me a bit and I figured some stuff out on my own. Stiles said that he loved you before he had gotten to know you, he knew what kind of person you used to be and loved you because of it, but he still didn’t really know you.”

“And after he had gotten to know me he didn’t like me anymore?”

“No, he just realized that he had to take you off the pedestal and once he did he realized that you may never love him in the same way and that maybe the two of you worked better as friends than you ever would in a relationship.”

“And then he met you.”

“Yes and it all happened so fast, and he told me that once everything had settled he realized that he loved you in a different way now.”

“Like he loves Scott.” Lydia guessed, like a friend or maybe even a sister.

“I think you are in your own special category, you were his first love and will always be his first love.”

“Does that make you nervous?” Lydia asked not out of spite but out of genuine curiosity as she put the car into park. They had arrived at the store, but she wanted to finish the conversation before they got out. Malia didn’t seem to notice as she continued to stare at her hands, struggling to find the right words.

“No, that’s why I’m telling you all of this. I know things can sometimes be tense around us, possibly because of my lack of tact or because of Stiles. But I just want to let you know that I completely understand that you and Stiles have a unique bond and that I am not threatened by it.”

“Really?” Lydia could not believe how understanding Malia was being.

“Yes, I don’t want yours and Stiles' friendship to change.” Looking back at it Lydia realized that maybe she had been a bit jealous of Malia, not of the fact that she was dating Stiles, but of the fact that she was now Stiles’ number one priority. It was incredibly selfish, but she had just lost two important people when Malia showed up to take a third away. Stiles would still be in her life, but Malia would always be his first priority where it used to be Lydia. Lydia saw now how petty that had been. Stiles was an incredibly loving person and he had room in his heart for both of them. He would still be there for Lydia no matter what.  
“Thank you, Malia, that is incredibly understanding of you.” Lydia reached over and squeezed her hand. Malia gave her a genuine smile this time and then looked out the window.

“Uh Lydia, where are we?”

“The store, what…” But Lydia trailed off as she looked, really looked out the window. She had thought they were parked at the store, but they were instead parked in a parking lot next to a huge factory.

“Lydia is this…?”

“It’s where they are keeping Stiles," Lydia said turning the car back on and quickly reversing “We have to get out of here before anyone sees us.”

“You did it Lydia, you found him.”

“Now let’s hope we can rescue him in time,” Lydia said, trying to ignore the pain exploding through her body, she knew Stiles didn’t have much more time.

*****

Liam woke to his phone buzzing. He was immediately awake as he looked at a text from Scott.

_Lydia found Stiles, come to the loft ASAP_

“Mason get up! They know where Stiles is” Liam shouted. His best friend stirred on the floor,

“What? How?”

“Lydia found him.”

“But if Lydia found him then…”

“Yeah, it means he’s close to death” Liam finished the sentence for Mason. “Hence why I am shouting at you to get up with such fervor.” The two boys immediately got up and started dressing. Liam was so grateful that Mason finally knew what was happening. Keeping the secret from him had almost destroyed their friendship. Now it was stronger than ever before and Liam always had someone to talk about the supernatural with. He had finally broken down and told everything to Mason when Scott had come to him and explained how valuable Stiles’ friendship was to him.

 

_“You should tell him, he saw the berserker with Lydia, he knows something is up.”_

_“What if telling him puts him in danger? Or what if he is disgusted at the thought of having a werewolf as a best friend?”  
“He won’t be, Mason is a good guy and a good friend, he wouldn’t push you away for something like that. Besides you need your friends, I would’ve been lost without Stiles.”_

_“But that’s different, Stiles came up with the werewolf theory before you did.”_

_“Yeah and I was incredibly cruel to him, but he still stood by me and helped me out. I almost killed him when I lost control, but Stiles still stood by me.”_

_“If you are trying to say that Mason will stand by me I get it, but it’s still putting him in danger.”_

_“Stiles is a human, and yes he has been put in danger, but he has survived. And he has been invaluable to me in the process and not just because he is super smart and clever and figures things out. He has been valuable to me because having all of this, werewolf powers, a pack, everything, wouldn’t mean as much if I didn’t have my best friend to share them with.”_

_“Alright, I’ll tell Mason.”_

And tell him he had, and he hadn’t regretted it for a second. Mason had already figured out that there were supernatural beings and he knew Liam had been acting strangely so he hadn’t been too surprised when Liam had told him. 

Liam was brought out of his thoughts with another text from Scott. 

_Isaac will pick you up in 5_

Liam had to stifle a groan. Did it have to be him? Liam just couldn’t shake the feeling of uneasiness whenever he was around Isaac. Mason didn’t understand Liam’s feelings as he and Isaac had really hit it off. The only one who seemed to understand had been Malia, but recently she had been spending more time around Isaac. When he questioned her about it she told him that she had made a promise to Stiles to give Isaac a fair chance.

Maybe it was time that Liam followed suit. Scott and Stiles both trusted him and Liam trusted Scott and Stiles above all else. Isaac may be a stranger who was absent for the whole Benefactor/Kate debacle, but he was here now and Liam owed it to Scott and Stiles to give him a chance.

Isaac pulled up in Mrs. McCall’s car and the two boys hopped in. Isaac sped out of the driveway and down the road at breakneck speeds.

“Whoa dude relax, you are going to get us killed,” Liam said tensely, then he noticed how tightly Isaacs hands were gripping the steering wheel, he heard his heart racing and smelled the fear. “Isaac, it’s going to be okay, we will make it to Stiles on time.” Liam softened his tone. Isaac slowed down slightly and took a deep breath.

“Lydia said she woke up screaming with excruciating pain, that was Stiles’ pain she was feeling. He’s dying.” Isaac’s voice shook.

“At least we know where he is, and I know we will get to him on time. What is a group of silly hunters against our fierce pack?” To Liam’s relief a small smile appeared on Isaac’s lips.

“I’m sorry I’ve been so rude to you man” Isaac said softly “It’s just that, I had nothing in life until I was bitten by Derek, and even then Derek cared more about having a werewolf than he did having me. Scott was the first person to really seem to care about what happened to me, at least since my brother died. Being a part of Scott’s pack was the first thing in a while to really feel right. I was the first werewolf to join you know, so I guess I was a bit territorial and jealous of you.”

“Why would you be jealous?”

“Because Scott bit you, I may be his beta, but you have a special bond with him being his bitten beta.”

“I do?”

“Yes, and I know I hadn’t been around and had no right to be so possessive, but I was and I apologize for that.”

“It’s alright, I think I was threatened by you as well, a strange werewolf whom Scott trusted and who had been a part of the pack for longer than I had.”

“I guess we both got off on the wrong foot,” Isaac admitted and Liam smiled at him.

“About damn time,” Mason said from the back and they both laughed.

“Now let’s go get Stiles,” Isaac said as he pressed down the gas pedal, this time Liam didn’t mention it.


	15. Chapter 15

Braeden sat listening as Lydia told them all about how she had located Stiles. Braeden interlocked her fingers with Derek and leaned their shoulders together, ever since Derek had “died” she had felt a need to stay connected with him in one way or another. The severity of her feelings for him were something that scared her. When she had thought he died she had lost her mind, he had so quickly became so important to her and she didn’t know what she would do without him. She now knew that he had evolved and was stronger than ever, but that didn’t alleviate the fear that she always felt.

“Lydia do you have any idea where Stiles is being held in the building? Chris asked.

“No, but I may be able to help locate him once I’m inside.”

“No way, we can’t risk taking you in there,” Parrish said, firmly shaking his head.

“Jordan you have too. We can’t waste time finding him, it’s a big building.” Lydia said in a tone that told everyone not to argue with her.

“Do we know how many hunters there are?” Braeden asked. She didn’t feel like they had nearly enough information to be storming the factory. Her mercenary brain told her to wait until she knew more before attacking. Unfortunately, she knew that the rest of them did not see things the same way. They knew that their friend was dying and they would go to any length to save him, the same way that Derek had been willing to sacrifice himself in Mexico to save Scott. They were all so infuriatingly sentimental. Although Braeden had to admit that if it was Derek that was kidnaped she might be less calculating.

“We know of at least 20 who attacked Dawson, Remy, and Olivia’s old pack. That being said, there may be more than what we know or they may have called in backup. Although some may have died in that attack.” Argent answered her question.

“From what I can tell there are 4 doors. The main entrance, a loading dock in the back, and two exits on the sides. There are 3 floors and a basement.” Remy looked up from his laptop. Braeden wasn’t sure how she felt about the new arrivals, but they certainly had been helpful and their added strength would be extremely useful. Letting them fight this fight with Scott's pack was a risk that they had to take.

“We’ll need to leave someone to guard each door so no one escapes. Then the rest can split into groups to cover each floor.” Braeden offered her plan, strategy was something she excelled in.

“Our number one priority is to find Stiles, we have to try to take down the hunters as quietly as possible.” Argent added nodding at Braeden’s plan.

“Why quietly?” Kira asked.

“Because their first reaction upon being attacked will be to kill Stiles” Argent said plainly, he continued ignoring the horrified gasps from the pack, “They won’t be able to take him with them as they try to escape and they wouldn’t take any chances, they leave no loose ends.” Braeden felt Derek squeeze her hand. She rubbed her thumb against the back of his hand, hoping to sooth him.

“My mom knows to expect Stiles at the hospital...but we have to fill in his dad,” Scott said, “He made me promise to let him know about any plans.” Scott looked uncomfortable about the idea and Braeden figured that it was out of respect for Stiles' wishes. She knew that Stiles would never want his father involved. Scott was choosing to go against what his friend would want. Braeden understood the decision, The Sheriff would be angrier at not being involved than Stiles would be if he found out his dad was involved. Plus they could really use any help they could get. The Sheriff might be a human, but he knew how to fire a gun.

“It’s alright, the Sheriff can hold his own.” Argent assured the worried boy.

“I’ll let him know,” Scott said pulling out his phone.

“Derek can I talk to you for a second?” Braeden asks him. He looks a little surprised but follows her up to their room.

“What’s the matter?” He says, a frown creasing his beautiful features as he looks at her.

“Are you sure we can do this? The is a lot of hunters and unknown factors to deal with.”

“We have to try, and besides, we have Isaac back and three new members of the pack.”

“We don’t know how well they can fight, Lydia will just get in the way, Scott refuses to kill people, and everyone will be distracted by their sentimentality for Stiles,” Braeden said in a rush, trying and failing to keep desperation out of her voice.

“I’ll be okay Braeden,” Derek said, recognizing what her real fear was. “You won’t lose me.”

“You can’t promise that!”

“It’s true we live dangerous lives, and there will always be new threats, but I can’t let that stop me from doing what’s right.”

“Why do you care so much?”

“Because helping them is my responsibility and what my mother would want me to do. Also, Stiles has saved my life before and I owe him the same.”

“I understand,” She said with a sigh “I wish I didn’t, but I do.”

“Besides, how could I ever get hurt with you watching my back?” Derek said, pulling Braeden in for a kiss. He wrapped his arms around her and drew her close, his mouth gently touching hers. He tried to keep the kiss light and tender, but Braeden tangled her fingers in his hair and nipped at his lip. She had never been good at going slow. Derek growled and pushed her back onto the bed. She watched his muscles ripple as he took off his shirt. She quickly mirror his movements and tossed hers aside.

“God you’re so beautiful” He whispered as he looked at her.

“Shut up and kiss me” she muttered, pulling his body close. And he did.

*****

Jordan took Lydia’s arm and led her out onto the balcony. Everyone was busy with the plan so he thought it was an opportune time to get her away to talk to her.

“What’s wrong Jordan?” Lydia asked once they were outside.

“I don’t like the idea of you running into a place filled with vicious hunters.”

“I’ll bring Stiles’ bat,” She said sweetly and he scoffed.

“Right cause that worked out so well for him,” He said and then immediately regretted it as pain flashed across her face. “Look I’m sorry, I’m just worried about you, I’m worried about everybody. It’s one thing to send a bunch of werewolves into a factory with an unknown amount of enemies, but it is a whole other thing to send you in with them.” She didn’t seem to realize how fragile she was. Time and time again that little redhead had thrown herself into the middle of danger, she was as bad as Stiles.

“I am our best shot at being able to locate Stiles as quickly as possible. You heard Chris, they will kill him once they hear us coming, not to mention the fact that he is dying and I have no idea how long he has, every second could count.” Jordan suddenly realized how worn out she looked.

“Hey Lydia, are you okay?”

“Fine, I just keep getting flashes of Stiles’ pain. The come and go quickly, but they are intense. We have to find him, if this is what he is feeling constantly, I have to do whatever I can to find him.”

“Okay, I’m in,” Jordan said rubbing her arm and ignoring the slight tug in his stomach when she threw her arms around her. She was less than 5 years younger than him. In the future that might not make much of a difference, but when she was in high school and he was out of college it most certainly did make a difference. She would be legal soon, but Jordan still tried to keep himself from thinking like that. They had only gotten so close because they had been spending a lot of time together working to figure out what he was. Right? Jordan got so confused thinking about it that most of the time he chose to ignore the situation. Still he found himself pulling her tighter into the hug and holding on for a bit longer than he should.

*****

“This is going to work right?” Kira asked Scott nervously, unable to keep from nibbling at her thumb.

“Of course it is, it's a good plan.” He assured her, but his voice sounded unsure. Never the less he reached out and took her hand away from her mouth. One thing that she loved about him was how selfless he was. He was obviously as unsure as she was, but he was still taking the time to reassure her and make her feel better. Kira didn’t point out that they had thought their previous plan was a good plan and look how that had ended. Scott’s phone buzzed and they both jumped a little. He looked at the bright screen. “Argent and Isaac are in position. You ready?” Kira nodded and pulled out her Katana.

Isaac and Argent were the last people to move into place. They guarded the back loading dock, Derek and Dawson covered the East exit, Remy and Braeden covered the West, and Argent and Isaac covered the front. Kira and the rest were going to enter through the East exit. Malia and Scott and the Sheriff were staying with Lydia in the hopes of her getting some kind of feeling. Kira and the rest were going to go to the top floor and move down, hoping to flush people down and towards the people guarding the exits. It was as solid of a plan as any, Kira was just nervous about all of the uncertainties. They had no idea how many hunters they were against or where they were or where Stiles was.

“Kira?” Scott prompted

“Oh sorry” she climbed out of the car and exchanged a nervous look with Lydia. The girl had been eerily quiet and Kira knew she was worried about Stiles. Scott came around the car and drew Kira into his arms and gave her a quick but intense kiss. She hugged him close and wished she didn’t have to let go, but she knew every second was precious so she reluctantly did.

“Be safe please, and find him quickly.”

“That’s the plan, remember everyone, stealth is key here. We want to take down as many as possible before they raise the alarm.”

“Got it,” Malia said a bit tersely. Kira knew she was eager to get Stiles. Scott pulled out his phone to send the final text, signaling the start of the attack.

“Let’s save Stiles,” he said and they all began running.


	16. Chapter 16

“Tell me all about Scott, Gerard was a little vague about how exactly he became a true Alpha. How does that work? Was it gradual or sudden? Does he have the same powers as other Alphas or is he stronger?” Clarisse waved her knife in a way that was supposed to be threatening but Stiles found it hard to care what happened to him at that point. He was having a hard enough time staying awake to be honest, although the freezing water Clarisse kept throwing on him was helping a bit. His head felt like it was going to burst and his leg felt like it was on fire. The medicine man had splinted it and they had put him back in the chair so he wouldn’t have to stand. They hadn’t even bothered to tie him up as they knew that he couldn’t run. “Stay with me Stiles” Clarisse said gripping his chin. He looked her straight in the eyes but gave her no other acknowledgment. “How are you still so defiant?” She said with a tone that was filled with wonder. “You have been beaten to a pulp and are half conscious, yet you still manage to a giant pain in the ass.” Stiles gasped as she drew the knife across his arm, just lightly enough to draw a bit of blood.

“Scott’s…his eyes flashed red...few times before…” He attempted, but his brain seemed incapable of forming a coherent sentence.

“A few times before what?”

“He stayed...Alpha”

“Very good Stiles, now tell me does he have any special abilities.”

“Dunno”

“Stiles,” Clarisse warned, but before she could cut him again the medicine man burst into the room.

“They found us.”

“What? How?” She demanded. Stiles wasn’t sure what was happening.

“Probably because of the insane torturing. You brought him too close to death and lead the banshee right to us. I warned you about this.” The banshee, wait were they talking about Lydia? Had she found him and led everyone else to him? Was he actually going to survive this?

“Shit, what do we do?”

“Kill him,” An unknown woman’s voice sounded from the doorway. “No loose ends, hurry.” To Stiles horror Clarisse pulled out a gun and aimed it at his heart.

“No! He’s just an innocent boy.” The medicine man protested.

“Do it Clarisse” The woman instructed. Stiles shut his eyes as a shot rang out, he felt a burning feeling in his shoulder. He had been shot, but not fatally. He opened his eyes and saw the medicine man on top of Clarisse. He took her gun and shot her, then turned to shoot the woman in the doorway, but she had vanished.

“Stay with me Stiles” The man said as he rushed over to Stiles and pressed a cloth to his shoulder. Stiles fought the blackness with everything he had. His friends were coming, he had to stay awake. Suddenly there was a commotion and the new woman’s body was thrown into the room. Then his best friend was there eyes glowing and covered in blood.

“Scott” Stiles said weakly, he saw his friend advance threateningly towards the medicine man. “No...he’s good” he coughed “Don’t...hurt” Three more figures appeared in the doorway, a little redhead, and a tall brunette, and…

“Dad…?”

“Stiles!” They all called. Stiles tried to respond, but found himself utterly unable. All their voices sounded very far away. He closed eyes and the faded quickly away.

*****

Scott watched in horror as his friend’s body went limp, his arms fell off the arms of the chair and his head fell forward. Scott put out an arm to stop Malia from attacking the man that was currently holding Stiles up.

“Wait, Stiles said not to hurt him.”

“Who are you?” Lydia demanded

“My name is Kyle, I’ve wanted to leave this group for a while but it isn’t really the type of group that they let you leave. I’m a medic, I am the one who has kept Stiles alive for this long. That woman there, Clarisse, she tried to shoot him. I kept her from making a kill shot, but she still shot him in the shoulder. He’s lost a lot of blood.” The man spoke fast, knowing the opportunity to explain himself was short.

“You helped Stiles?” This came from the Sheriff.

“As much as I possibly could without endangering myself, I couldn’t help him when I was dead. Now please, you can lock me up after this is all over and question me further, but he is going to die if we don't get him to a hospital.” The man’s words spurred the four of them into action. The Sheriff and Scott came forward to carry Stiles. They each put Stiles’ arms around their shoulders and lifted him up. Scott tried not to think about how much lighter his friend felt than the last time he had carried him.

“Which way?” Malia asked, leading the way out.

“Left, there is a staircase that will lead us to the ground floor.” The man offered. They make their way past fallen bodies, not seeing anyone until they reached the staircase. Malia quickly took down a hunter trying desperately to flee. They finally made it to the ground floor.

“Go right and at the end of the hall there is an exit.” They turn and go down the hallway. Malia pushes open the door,

“Wait it’s us!” She says when a gun is clicked.

“Malia?” Scott hears Argent ask, then he and Isaac rush forward.

“Stiles! You found him” Isaac says, then takes a good look at the state of the boy “Is he..?”

“He’s alive, but barely, we have to get him to the hospital.” Scott responds quickly

“Who’s this?” Argent asks noticing Kyle.

“He was with them but turned on them, he saved Stiles’ life. Can you take him to Derek for so he can get his whole story?” Scott asked Argent. The man nodded and led Kyle away. Scott and the Sheriff carried Stiles to the Sheriffs car. Malia climbed in and they lifted Stiles up, settling his head in Malia’s lap. Scott noticed that he could still hear fighting in the distance. “Isaac?”

“Don’t worry, I’ll handle things here, you go” The boy responded to his unasked question. Scott was vaguely aware of Lydia running to her car as he climbed into the passenger seat and they sped away.

*****

“Stay with me Stiles” Malia whispered, “You promised you would never leave me. Stay with me, please.” She cradled his head gently and pressed the cloth against his shoulder, She didn’t know where to touch since he seemed to be covered in injuries. Looking at his injuries make panic rise inside of her so instead she closed her eyes and focused on his heartbeat and his breathing. Both were faint and erratic, but they were there and that was the most important part.

“Hold on Stiles” She heard the Sheriff murmur as he blasted down the street with the siren blaring. Scott’s mom was waiting for them with a team of nurses when they got there. Stiles was lifted away from her before she knew what was happening. She, Scott, and the Sheriff jumped out and ran after them. Once Stiles was settled on a gurney Melissa turned to them.

“We have to take him to intensive care, you guys need to stay here in the waiting room. No, stay” She said when they opened their mouths to fight. “You will just get in the way, I will keep you updated.” And with that she was gone, leaving Scott, Malia, and the Sheriff standing in the middle of the hospital covered in blood.


	17. Chapter 17

The rest of the pack, except Derek, Braeden, and Argent, rushed in sometime later to find the Sheriff, Scott, Malia, and Lydia sitting tiredly in chairs.

“What’s happening?” Kira asked, going to sit next to Scott and taking his hand. The movement sent a sudden pang of longing through Malia.

“He’s in surgery” The Sheriff answered, his voice thick with unshed tears. Malia knew it was taking all that he had not to fall apart. She was feeling the same way, but a quote from a book she just read kept coming back to her,

"It takes ten times as long to put yourself back together as it does to fall apart."

Suzanne Collins really knew what she was talking about. Malia knew that if she let herself go, if she gave into the hysteria that wanted to spill over, she might be totally consumed. She needed to stay strong for Stiles and for her friends. They needed to devote all of their focus on him, not on her mental breakdown.

“Is he going to be okay?” Liam asked, his eyes wide and filled with fear. Malia knew she was only a few years older than him, but at times like this he just looked so young and vulnerable.

“We don’t know...they won’t tell us much” Lydia responded. Liam came and sat next to Malia, leaning his head on her shoulder. The others settled themselves in chairs or on the floor. No one talked for a long time as they waited for any news.

Finally, what seemed like hours later, Melissa finally came into the waiting area. They were all on their feet immediately, each one asking about Stiles.

“We patching him up as best we could, we had to reset his leg. He had several broken ribs and internal bleeding as well as many cuts that needed to be sewn up. The bullet in his shoulder was removed without too much difficulty, it only caused damage in the muscle it was embedded in. He was dehydrated and hypothermic and lost a lot of blood. He’s not out of the woods yet but in time if there are no other complications, which there very well could be, he should heal from these injuries...” Melissa said this all very slowly as if there was something more horrible she wasn’t telling them. Malia couldn’t imagine what could be worse than what she had just heard. The others seemed to sense that something was not right as well as they were all silently staring at Melissa, waiting for her to continue.

“Heal from these injuries? Does he have some other injury?” Malia finally asked, not being able to bear the suspense anymore.

“He sustained a substantial amount of injury to his head. We are keeping him in an induced coma until the swelling in his brain goes down, we will not be able to tell the amount of damage until he wakes up.” Malia didn’t know much about medical terms, but the phrase induced coma did not sound friendly and based on the tension and fear she felt from everyone else she knew that this was a very serious matter.

“When will he be taken out of the coma? When will he wake up?” Scott asked, his voice shaking. Mrs. McCall went over to her son and embraced him.

“It’s hard to say, it all depends on how long it takes the swelling to go down. I’m sorry, I wish I could give you a more concrete answer.” Scott’s arms tightened around his mother’s and he buried his head into his shoulder.

“When can we see him?” Isaac asked, Malia could tell he was trying to act braver than he felt. The lanky boy was playing with his scarf and not looking at anyone, Malia suspected that if he had looked up she would see tears in his blue eyes.

“Soon, the Doctors are just finishing getting him settled in his room. I’m going to warn you guys, it will look a little scary. He’s very beat up and he will be connected to a lot of machines and tubes and wires.”

“Is it true that he might be able to hear us?” Lydia asked. This got Malia’s attention, she had figured out based on the questions asked that a coma meant that Stiles was going to remain unconscious, so how could he hear them?

“There have been cases where the patient claimed they could hear everything while in a coma, although I think it is normally associated with those who are in a coma for natural reasons, not a medically induced one, but it doesn’t hurt to try right?” Melissa gave a sad smile and Malia realized how exhausted she looked. “I’ll go check on how it’s going” Melissa pulled away from Scott and disappeared.

*****

The Sheriff stared at his son, or rather the ghost of his son that lay on the bed. The pale, motionless boy that lay there was nothing like his hyperactive son. But he was his son, it was Stiles who was in that bed hooked up to machines that were keeping him alive. The cold, limp hand that he was grasping was the same one that he had held so many times when Stiles was younger.

The Sheriff couldn’t focus on the injuries covering his son’s body, they just made him angry and want to go reshoot every single one of those hunters. So instead he focused on the fact that Stiles was alive and safe. He was surrounded by his family and friends that loved him. The Sheriff felt an arm link with his and he looked to see Melissa leaning her head on his shoulder. Melissa, the woman who had become Stiles’ female role model after Claudia had died. The woman who had taken on the role of surrogate mother without question. She had always been there to lend a helping hand and provide support, both to him and his son. The Sheriff only hoped he has helped Melissa out with Scott and her divorce half as much as she has helped him.

The Sheriff looked over to see Malia and Lydia standing on the other side of the bed. The girl his son had loved for so long and the girl he had finally found love with. Malia gently kissed his forehead and held his hand where it lay across his stomach. His arm was in a sling to prevent any irritation of the muscles of his shoulders. Lydia wrapped her arm around Malia’s waist and smoothed down the blanket around Stiles. Both girls had tears falling from their eyes as they looked at Stiles. The Sheriff saw in their eyes a look that mirrored his own, a combination of not wanting to look at him because the injuries were just a reminder of how much pain he had been through and not being able to look away because they finally had him back and they never wanted to lose him again. The Sheriff wasn’t sure if he would ever be able to let Stiles out of his sight ever again.

The Sheriff looked around at the group of kids gathered around his son. They were all looking at Stiles with mixed expressions of care and concern, anger, sadness, and mostly fear. The Sheriff could tell that they all loved his son so much and he was glad for their presence there. It made him feel comforted to know that he was not alone and that so many people would be supporting him through this.

*****

“Can you explain the induced coma thing to me?” Malia asked Scott once they were alone. The Sheriff and Melissa had finally convinced everyone else to go home. Melissa promised them all that she would let them know before Stiles was woken up. The pack had finally agreed, they were all exhausted and they knew they couldn’t do anything for Stiles anyways. So with promises to visit first thing in the morning, they had left. The adults had not argued when Malia and Scott had stayed put, they knew it was no use to try to get the two of them to leave. They now sat in the waiting area, giving the Sheriff some alone time with his son. Malia finally got the chance to ask more about Stiles’ condition that everyone else seemed to know about.

“Do you know what swelling is?”

“Yes, it’s when a human hurts themselves and fluid builds up in the area causing the swelling. I’ve looked up a lot of information about how humans normally heal because...well in case…”

“In case Stiles ever got hurt?” Scott prompted and Malia nodded her head.

“Stiles has swelling his his brain?”

“Yes and it can be extremely dangerous. What would be the first thing you would do if Stiles sprained his ankle and it started swelling?”

“Well, you use P.R.I.C.E, so first I would Protect it from further damage and Rest the ankle.”

“Right, so that’s what they are doing to his brain. If he were awake he would be using his brain and that could cause further damage. So they put him into a coma where his brain activity level will be low and his brain, can hopefully, heal.”

“So once the swelling goes down they will bring him out of the coma and he’ll be alright?”

“Best case scenario, yes. They problem is that swelling in the brain can sometimes cut off oxygen supply to certain parts of the brain and when cells don’t have oxygen they die, my mom says we won’t be able to tell the amount of damage until he wakes up.”

“Oh god…” Malia now fully understood why everyone was so horrified at the idea of brain swelling. It was absolutely terrifying to think about.

“He’ll be okay Malia, he’s a fighter,” Scott said and pulled her into his arms. She buried her face into his neck and held onto him tightly. Wrapped in his embrace she finally let herself go a bit as she started to cry. Not the silent tears that she had been experiencing since she walked into the hospital, but big sobs that escaped her before she was able to stop them. Scott held her tighter and she felt his body shaking as well. They held each other and cried until neither of them had a tear left to shed.


	18. Chapter 18

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Merry Christmas to all of my friends that celebrate it! As a special gift from me to you, I will be posting another chapter tonight!
> 
> Yup you read that correctly, TWO CHAPTERS IN ONE DAY! So please continue to give Kudos and comment up a storm and I will post the next one soon! 
> 
> I love you all!

If Malia squeezed his hand any harder she was liable to break it. Not that Scott could blame her, they were all incredibly nervous. It had been 3 days since they had brought Stiles into the hospital. 3 of the worse days in his life. He had spent practically the whole time here although he had made a trip to Derek’s loft where they were keeping Kyle. He wanted to hear what Derek thought of Kyle’s story and if he thought they could trust him. Derek, Braeden, and Argent had come to the conclusion that they thought Kyle was telling the truth, but they all decided that it was better to keep him under watch until Stiles woke up and could confirm his story.

With that settled, Scott had focused on the new task of finding a cover story for the 3 previous omegas. He wanted them to live normal lives in Beacon Hills or as normal as a supernatural could in the town. Scott was confident that Argent, Braeden, and Parrish had enough connections between them to come up with a story and paperwork to back it up.

Scott had made sure that the rest of the pack had gone back to school for the past few days. He needed them to get back to living their lives and they all just kept getting in the way at the hospital. He had not been able to convince Malia or Lydia however. He knew it was no use separating Malia from Stiles and Lydia assured him that her grades were good enough to survive a few missing days of school.

For three days, they had sat watch in Stiles’ room with his father. For three days, they had watched the boy breath but do little else. It was odd seeing his normal fidgety friend remain so eerily still. Scott’s mom had warned them that he might sometimes twitch, but so far Stiles hadn’t moved a muscle.

Now finally after three days of torture, Stiles’ swelling had gone down enough for them to bring him out of the induced coma. His mom had seemed pleased with his progress when she announced the news. Now the entire pack was packed into the small hospital room as his mom explained what was happening.

“We’ve taken him off the medicine that was causing the coma, it will be working its way out of his system. Once it is out he should wake up, if all goes well it could be in a couple of hours.”

“What if all doesn’t go well?” The Sheriff asked quietly. Scott cringed at the thought, but he knew the Sheriff just liked to have all of the information, even the painful to hear stuff.

“He has responded well to treatment, his swelling went down as expected, we will have to look for any lasting damage once he wakes up but we haven’t found any indications that he won’t wake up after the medicine wears off.” His mom answered. Scott noticed that she skirted around the answer, but the Sheriff seemed appeased so he let it go. It was better to think positive anyways. In a couple hours, his best friend was going to open up his eyes and crack some stupid joke and they would all be on the way to getting back to normal.

*****

You could cut the tension with a knife.

Malia had always thought that saying was a bit weird and she had never really understood what it meant. At least she hadn’t understood until this moment. Sitting in Stiles’ room, waiting as the minutes ticked by for him to wake up. She could actually feel the tension in the air. It was like a living breathing thing. A monster that was standing over each one of them, invading their personal space and slowly driving them all crazy. Malia wished she could actually cut the tension with a knife. Maybe if she killed the monster they would all be able to breathe normally.

Melissa had said if all went well it would be a couple of hours. Apparently all was not well as they had just passed the 4-hour mark and Stiles was still unconscious. Melissa had come in several times to check on him, but all she could tell them was that he vitals were good and that he would wake up when he was ready.

God Malia hoped he was ready soon. She kept staring at him, hoping that if she concentrated hard enough she could will him to wake up. Every second that his eyes remained closed was torture. She needed him to be okay. She needed him to wake up and smile at her and show her that he was going to be okay. She needed him.

*****

Melissa went through her rounds like a ghost. Her body automatically did what she needed to do, but her mind was in an entirely different place. Her mind was in that room with Stiles and the Sheriff and her son and all of their friends.

She knew what Stiles not waking up yet meant. It meant that there was something stopping him. It meant that there was something wrong. If everything was working perfectly in his brain he would’ve woken up already.

“Melissa, are you ready?” A voice brought her out of her thoughts. She looked up to see Dr. Peters, Stiles’ doctor, waiting for her. He had graciously agreed to wait until she finished her rounds to talk to Stiles’ dad and friends. She wanted to be there for them in whatever way possible.

“Yes, sorry Doctor.” She said as she fell into step beside him. They were both quiet as they walked down the hall. Telling someone that their loved one had slipped into a coma was one of the worst things about the job. There was something utterly horrific about the uncertainty of it all. They did not always know the cause of the coma and therefore are unable to do much to help the situation.They never knew how long it would last. It could be a few days, a few months, or the patient could never wake up again. And they also never knew how much brain damage the patient might have received. Sometimes people woke up and were never the same again.

Melissa hated going through this with a group of strangers, byt it was going to be infinitely harder with a group of people she knew and patient she loved as a son. She couldn’t imagine Stiles never waking up again and she couldn’t imagine Stiles waking up and not being the same joyful, enthusiastic, full of life kid he used to be. Yet she knew the chances of Stiles being that kid again were slim to none. Even if he managed to wake up with no significant brain damage, he had been through a traumatic situation and Melissa knew he would never be the same.

“You ready?” Dr. Peters stopped with his hand on the doorknob to give her a sympathetic look. She nodded and they walked inside. Melissa tuned out most of Dr. Peters’ talk about Comas. One phrase kept echoing around her head. Try as she might she couldn’t get it out.

Might never wake up…

Stiles might never wake up.

Stiles.

Might.

Never.

Wake.

Up.


	19. Chapter 19

He hated Thursdays. Seriously it was the worst day of the week. Everyone just spent the entire day complaining about the fact that it wasn’t Friday yet. He was drained from the week of school and Lacrosse practice and he still had one more day to go.

Stiles pulled his Jeep into the driveway and hopped out. He had plans to get some dinner and play video games to unwind from the day before starting his homework. With his backpack slung on one shoulder, he pushed open the door of his house. He was immediately hit with the heavenly scent of food.

Wait that was weird, his house never smelled like fresh cooked food.

“Stiles is that you?” He heard a female voice call. He knew that voice. He walked slowly towards the kitchen and peeked around the doorway. His heart leaped at the sight of the familiar woman.

“Mom?” He couldn’t keep the shock and disbelief out of his voice.

“Oh, there you are honey, how was practice?” She was at the stove stirring something in a pot and didn’t look up as he entered.

“Mom, how are you here?” He asked, ignoring her question.

“What are you talking about Stiles, I’m always here when you get home.” She finally looked at him and he was pretty sure his heart stopped for a second. It was really her, she was really here with him. Stiles walked over to her and drew her into a tight hug. She laughed and hugged back. “Not that I’m complaining, but what’s with the hug? Did you have a bad day?” She pulled back to look into his face.

“No more than usual, I just...needed a mom hug.”

“Fair enough,” She said and resumed their hug. Stiles buried his face in her neck and ignored the nagging feeling that this wasn’t right. He didn’t want to figure out what was wrong this time. He was always putting so much effort into figuring out what was wrong. He wasn’t sure how, but he had his mom back, and for right now that was good enough for him.

*****

Malia kissed his hand and then held it against her cheek. She was grateful to feel that the warmth had returned to his hand. This was the first moment that she had gotten alone with Stiles since everything had happened. She mulled over what Melissa and the Doctor had told them, which wasn’t a lot. They basically said that Stiles was remaining in his coma and they weren’t sure why. There was something that was keeping him from waking up.

“Come on Stiles, you’ve always been so strong and stubborn and a fighter. I need you to be a fighter now, you have to come back to me. Please Stiles, you promised never to leave me. I know you are strong enough to beat whatever this is. Please Stiles…” She had to stop talking because tears were threatening to spill over. She had already cried enough for a lifetime and she didn’t want to ruin her precious moments with Stiles by dissolving into hysterics. So instead she scooted closer to the bed and rested her forehead on their intertwined hands.

She wasn’t sure how long she stayed like that. She didn’t really think about much, just tried to enjoy the simplicity of being alone with Stiles.

Eventually, she heard the door open and the Sheriff walked in. It broke her heart to see the hopeless look on his face. Malia knew how he felt, it was a form of torture to have Stiles back, but not really back. And according to the doctors they weren’t sure if he would ever come back. The Sheriff stood next to her chair and put a hand on her shoulder. He didn’t say anything, just squeezed lightly and stared at his son. Following her instincts Malia stood up and threw her arms around him, and he immediately returned the embrace. This was the only way that Malia felt she could fully communicate her feelings. She knew that any words of comfort would sound empty to his ears. Goodness knows she had heard her fair share of empty words and false hopes. But through the hug she could let the Sheriff know that she was there for both him and Stiles and that she would be no matter what. She could try to let him know how much both of the Stilinski men meant to her.

After a bit they broke apart, both with tears in their eyes. The Sheriff smiled at Malia and cupped her cheek.

“Thank you Malia” He said simply. She nodded in response and then left him alone with his son.

******

“Do we have to?” Malia whined and gave him her best puppy dog eyes.

“God you’re cute, but yes we have to. Every person needs to watch The Notebook once in their life, just ask Lydia. Besides, maybe it will awaken your romantic side.” Stiles reached over and playfully squeezed her nose. He loved Malia for the way she was, but a romantic gesture from her every once in a while would be appreciated. Especially since he himself was a hopeless romantic.

“Ugh fine,” Malia said. Stiles gave a triumphant smile and put on the movie. Malia settled against him, she intertwined their hands and rested her head against his shoulder. Stiles always loved watching movies with her because it was one of the only times that she was ever content to just snuggle. Most other times she just wanted to rip his clothes off, not that he was ever complaining of course. But he couldn’t deny the overwhelming feeling of content as they sat snuggled together.

“Who wants popcorn?” Stiles looked over to see his mom carrying a huge bowl of popcorn.

“Yes please” Stiles grinned and reached out to take the bowl.

“Oh, The Notebook, I love this one” his mom said as she sat on the arm of the couch, she sat for a few moments watching the movie before Stiles spoke,

“Mom, I love ya to pieces, but you’re kinda cramping my style here.”

“Let the boy spend some quality time watching a romantic movie with his girlfriend Claudia.” Stiles’ dad said walking into the room. “I think I can find something more interesting for us to do.” He said as he walked over and planted a kiss on his wife’s lips.

“Uck gross, please leave both of you! You’re embarrassing me” Stiles said, but he only half meant it. Sure his parents were very fond of PDA, but he was really lucky to have two parents who were still so in love after so many years of marriage.

“Alright we’re leaving” his mom said as she allowed his dad to pull her out of the room by her hand. Stiles couldn’t help but smile at the closed door.

“They’re cute,” Malia said

“Yeah, they are, now let’s watch this movie.” Stiles said turning back to the screen, but he didn’t really focus on what was happening, he had already seen the movie so many times…

 

_“Stiles we both know you’ll tell me one way or another, so why don’t you make this easier on yourself.”_

_“Why don’t you go to hell” Stiles felt himself say._

_“I do love the mouth on you, it makes you so much more fun to torture.” The redhead sneered as he came towards Stiles with a pair of pliers. He grabbed one of Stiles’ hand, Stiles tried desperately to fight him but he was tied up. The man took the thumb on Stiles hand and placed the pliers against his finger nail. Before Stiles could protest he gave a sharp tug and pulled Stiles’ fingernail out. Stiles couldn’t help but scream._

 

“Stiles!” He looked at Malia who was looking back at him with a concerned expression on her face. It took Stiles a few moments to realize he was sitting on the couch in his living room. He looked down at his hands and confirmed that all of his fingernails were still there.

“I must’ve fallen asleep.” He said still looking around in a bit of a daze “Sorry.”

“You were screaming.”

“I had a bad dream, but it was nothing.”

Stiles.” She said in a tone that let him know she didn’t believe him.

“Really it’s nothing, I can’t really remember what happened anyways. Let’s just get back to the movie, I won’t fall asleep this time I promise.” Malia stared at him for a few seconds before apparently deciding to give it up, at least for the time being. She kissed his cheek and settled back against him. Stiles played idly with her hair as he tried to focus on the movie. He tried to forget his dream that had seemed more like a memory. But he had never been tortured by a ginger so it couldn’t be a memory. It just seemed so real, the pain had seemed so real. But it wasn’t real and it was best to forget it like he had told Malia he had. So he pushed those thoughts away and enjoyed the rest of the movie with his girlfriend.


	20. Chapter 20

Liam tried really hard to focus on what Olivia was talking about. Normally he loved her constant chatter and would hang on every word, but right now he was having a really hard time paying attention. Scott had called a pack meeting for the first time since they had found Stiles. It had been a week since the doctors had tried and failed to take him out of his coma and there had been no change. Liam was really hoping that Scott had something good to tell them all during the meeting, but he knew that was probably wishful thinking.  


“Hello, earth to Liam,” Olivia said in a singsong voice. He looked up to see her watching him with and expression of half concern and half amusement.  


“Sorry, what were you saying,” He said giving her an apologetic smile  


“I was telling you that they got our cover story and documents all straightened out so we will be able to start going to school and living normal lives. Are you okay?”  


“Olivia that’s great! What is your cover story?” Liam said, ignoring her question. She gave him a questioning look but must've decided to drop it since she continued talking.  


“Well for one, Dawson is now my big brother. He and Remy are ‘fraternal twins’” She used air quotes for the phrase “fraternal twins”. “We are three orphans who were sent to live with our only remaining family member, dear uncle Chris. He is going to let us all stay with him which I think is insanely generous.”  


“That’s a good cover, and really nice of Argent. Jordan and Braeden got all the paperwork sorted?”  


“Yep, we’re all officially Argents. Our "father" Paul is Chris’ long lost brother.” Again air quotes on the word "father".  


“3 werewolves in the Argent family, Chris’ ancestors are probably rolling over in their graves.”  


“And Allison is probably enjoying having the last laugh,” Scott said as he and Kira entered the loft. He came over and sat next to Liam, leaning back against the couch and closing his eyes, he looked exhausted. Liam was extremely glad to see his alpha, he couldn’t really describe it, but he always felt more at ease with Scott near him. It was partially because Scott was his alpha and partially because Scott was his friend. Scott had a calming presence on Liam that no one else had.  


“Where is everyone else?” Liam asked.  


“They should be coming soon,” Scott said not opening his eyes. As he spoke the doors opened again and Lydia and Parrish walked in. Next came Olivia’s “brothers” followed shortly by Isaac, Deaton, and Melissa. Liam was surprised to see the two adults, they were not usually in attendance at pack meetings. Their presence made him all the more curious about what the meeting was about. Upon hearing the noise, Derek and Braeden came downstairs to join the rest of the group. Argent and the man named Kyle that they had picked up at the factory arrived next. Liam had no idea why there were allowing the man to roam free. It was true that he didn’t leave the loft unless he was with a member of the pack, but Liam still thought it was a bit lenient. Scott had said that Stiles had told them not to hurt Kyle, but Stiles could have been delirious or suffering through some kind of Stockholm syndrome. Liam would not fully trust him until Stiles woke up and told them the whole story himself.  
Malia and the Sheriff were the last ones to arrive. Both looked like death warmed up and Liam suspected this was the first time in a while either had left the hospital. Every time he went to visit Stiles one of them was always at his side.  


“Well looks like everyone is here,” Scott spoke from next to him. He was sitting up straight now, looking around at them intently. “Let’s get started, mom, can you tell everyone what you told me?” Everyone turned to look at Melissa who was fiddling with the hem of her scrubs  


“Um okay, so as you all know Stiles is stable. His body is healing, but his brain is keeping him from waking up. At this point, there is really nothing that the doctors can do except wait.” Melissa paused and Liam had to resist the urge to go over and shake her, he just wished she’d get to the point.  


“We know all of this already,” Derek said, his voice laced with the same annoyance that Liam felt.  


“Just let her talk” Scott muttered giving Derek a stony look. Derek put his hands up in surrender and gestured for Melissa to continue.  


“Okay, well I was just thinking that we have a bit more information about how the world really works than the doctors. I thought maybe if we all put our brains together we might be able to come up with a supernatural way to help Stiles.” Melissa said it all quickly as if she were afraid of being interrupted again. Her jumbled sentences were followed by a slightly stunned silence as they all processed.  


“Actually that is something I have been thinking about.” Deaton finally spoke up “Something the doctor said stuck out to me. He said that there was something inside Stiles’ brain that was preventing him from waking up. What if it’s like when he was trapped inside his own mind by the Nogitsune?”  


“You think we might be able to bring him out of it if we go inside his mind and find him,” Scott said with a hope in his voice that Liam hadn’t heard in a while.  


“You and Lydia did it once before, maybe you could do it again,” Deaton said nodding.  


“Wait hold on, a coma isn’t exactly the same as an evil fox spirit.” Derek pointed out.  


“You’re right, this time you will need to be more delicate, it’s only Stiles inside of there so you will have to be careful of what walls you break down to get him out,” Deaton said it all like he was giving out the recipe to his favorite lasagna dish but his words left a sick feeling inside of Liam. He hadn’t been around while the Nogitsune was possessing Stiles, but he had heard the stories. And based on the stories it had been no easy task freeing Stiles from his mind, Lydia and Scott had both almost gotten stuck.  


“I don’t like the sound of this,” Parrish said looking around to see if the others agreed with him,  


“I’m not saying it won’t be dangerous, both for Stiles and those who enter his mind, but I have done a fair amount of research over the past week and I haven’t found anything else that could possibly help” Deaton said, his tone gaining a bit of intensity.  


“Maybe you couldn’t, but the rest of us weren’t trying. Maybe we could find something different” Isaac said.  


“Isaac’s right, let’s give it a few days to see if we can come up with any safer options. If we can’t then I say we have to try it, no matter the risk.” Scott firmly stated his decision.  


“Alright, just don’t wait too long. If Stiles is trapped in his own brain he might sink further and further in as time goes by.” Deaton warned them.  


“48 hours, we meet back here and see if anyone has found anything,” The Sheriff spoke up for the first time. Everyone agreed to this plan and went their separate ways. Liam could only hope that they were able to find another way.  


*****  


“Go Stiles go!”  


“That’s my son!”  


“Whoo Stiles!” Stiles grinned as he looked into the stands to see his parents and Malia standing up and cheering. He had just scored another goal and man did it feel good. He caught Malia’s eye and she blew him a kiss. His heart did a little flip-flop. No matter how long they were together, Stiles knew that he would never lose that giddy feeling when it came to her.  


Stiles’ gaze moved to his parents. His mom was jumping up and down and cheering loudly and his dad was watching her with a huge smile on his face. Stiles could tell that his father hadn’t lost that feeling when it came to his mom. His dad looked away from his mom to meet his eye.  


“That’s my son!” He called again like he wanted the entire world to know that he was the father of Stiles and proud of it. Stiles waved at the three of them and then ran over to where his team was huddled.  


“Nice work Stilinski” Coach yelled “now the rest of you hooligans better step it up. We are currently in the lead and I would like to keep it that way until the game ends in one minute.”  


“You got it Coach,” Scott said as he clapped Stiles on the shoulder.  


“Alright now get your asses on the field!” They broke apart and ran out onto the field. Scott turned to grin at Stiles before taking his place and Stiles winked in response. The whistle blew and everything sprang into action. Scott quickly took possession of the ball and began running down the field, dodging people as he went. Stiles ran as fast as he could to catch up, weaving in and out of people just like his friend. He made it to a position in front of the net and looked for Scott. Right on cue Scott sent the ball flying in Stiles’ direction. Stiles caught it and quickly hurled it towards the net. The ball sailed into the net just as the clock ran out.  
Scott ran over to Stiles and tackled him to the ground. Their fellow teammates soon joined creating one huge pile on top of Stiles who laughed until he couldn’t breathe.  


“Alright...I know it’s exciting we won an all...but get off of me…” He said between laughs. Everyone stood up and Scott helped pull Stiles to his feet. He regained his footing in just enough time to catch Malia who threw herself at him. He spun her around and pressed his lips against hers.  


“Good game honey” Stiles broke away from Malia when he heard his mom’s voice. He gave both his parents a hug.  


“Thanks”  


“What do you say we go out for some pizza to celebrate?” His father asked.  


“Mmm sounds good to me,” Stiles said happily as he reached for Malia’s hand. “Scotty?”  


“Let me grab my mom and Kira and we’ll meet you there” His friend said in reply.  


“Perfect, let’s go”, Stiles said, his stomach grumbling at the thought of food. “I’m so hungry I could eat a horse.”  


“Deer are much better” Malia whispered so only he could hear, he was happy she was learning to not shout statements like that. Stiles got a funny look from his parents when he let out a loud laugh, but they had learned at that point not to ask. Still chuckling Stiles leaned over and kissed Malia on the cheek.  


“Pizza’s still the best though” He whispered in her ear. She turned her head so she could kiss him on the lips. She pulled apart slightly and murmured against his lips,  


“Can’t argue with you there.”


	21. Chapter 21

“What are those?” Malia asked immediately when she opened the door.

“They’re...flowers. It’s romantic.” He informed her as he held them out to her.

“Oh yeah, Lydia and Kira were telling me about that. Thank you, Stiles, they’re beautiful.” She gave him a genuine smile and sniffed the flowers, “And they smell amazing”. She opened the door wide for him and he got his first glimpse of her outfit. She was wearing a flowy electric blue dress that went down to her knees. The plunging neckline made it difficult for him to keep his eyes away.

“Wow...Malia you look amazing.” He stammered and she beamed again.

“So do you,” She said taking in his black dress pants and dark red button down shirt. “I’ve never seen you so dressed up.”

“Yeah, I reserve it only for special occasions, which this certainly is.”

“Our first official date.”

“Yep, sorry it took me so long.” He said with a crooked grin, knowing she didn’t really mind. His mom had pointed out to him that he had never actually taken Malia out on a real date. Sure they had seen movies and eaten together, but they had never gone to a nice restaurant and made a big deal about calling it a date. Stiles knew he had to change that. This was both of their first relationships and they both deserved to do it right.

“You don’t need to apologize, you know I don’t care.” She said in her honest way. “I should put these in water right?” She continued before he could respond. He nods at her,

“It keeps them fresher longer.”

“Okay, I’ll be right back” She gives him a smile and walks back into her house, but as she’s walking away he hears her mutter, “They would’ve stay a lot fresher if they were still in the ground.” Stiles felt a ridiculous smile break across his face. Malia could just be so wonderfully refreshing sometimes, she made him question the silly things and focus on the important things. She didn’t need him to bring her flowers to show how much he cared for her, all she needed was him. That was all she expected of him. That being said, as Malia came back into view Stiles vowed to try chocolate next time.

“Ready?” He asked. She nodded in response and hooked her arm in his. He led her to his jeep and they both climbed in. He had picked the restaurant specifically because it had venison. He wasn’t sure how Malia would feel about cooked deer, but since she had made her feelings about deer clear he figured it wouldn’t hurt to try. Who knows, maybe she would end up liking cooked meat better than raw meat.

*****

Malia wanted to punch something or throw up or cry. She didn’t know how to deal with the emotions that were coursing through her body. If she was a coyote still she might go hunting to help with what she was feeling. How did humans handle all of these feelings?

“I can’t find anything!” Lydia said as she slammed her laptop shut. Malia looked at the clock to see that their 48 hours was up.

“We have to head to the loft,” She said, “Maybe someone else found something.”

“Yeah maybe” Lydia murmured as she stood up, but Malia could see the doubt in her eyes. Malia’s stomach was a jumble of knots as they entered the loft. Everyone else was already there and looking pretty glum. Scott cleared his throat as the two girls sat down.

“So, um...I wasn’t able to find any other way to reach Stiles or pull him out of his coma. Did anyone else find anything?” Scott’s announcement was followed by a long and painful silence. Malia looked anxiously around the room, but most people were avoiding eye contact and no one was saying anything. After a moment, it became clear that no one had been able to find anything. “No one?” Scott prodded. A few people shook their heads at this, but everyone still remained silent. The longer the silence stretched the more Malia felt like something was going to burst inside of her. A pressure started in her stomach and spread throughout her entire body until it was all she could do to keep from screaming. Just when Malia felt as if she was reaching her breaking point, Deaton cleared his throat.

“I hate to say it, but I think my plan is our only option.”

“I agree,” Derek said, sitting up straight. “We have to try, Stiles is showing no signs of getting better on his own, we have to do something.”

“Scott? Lydia? Are you guys okay with going back into Stiles’ head?” Deaton asked them. Scott nodded his head vigorously, but Lydia spoke up,

“Actually I think Malia should go in instead of me.” Malia and the rest of the pack turned to the girl in shock.

“But you have done it before, you know what to expect,” Malia argued, “plus you have your whole banshee-ness.”

“Yes but I’m not the one Stiles is in love with.” Lydia made the statement so casually and matter of factly. Malia’s mouth dropped open and she was struck speechless. Luckily she was saved from speaking when Lydia kept talking, “Oh come on, you have to know it’s true, even if you guys haven’t said it to each other yet. He loves you and I know you love him. That is more powerful than any Banshee magic I could conjure. It has to be you, you and Scott are our best chances of bringing him back.” Malia looked around to see a few of the others nodding their heads at Lydia’s words.

“Okay, I’ll do it. Whatever it takes.” Malia made her decision quickly. It really wasn’t hard, she would risk anything for Stiles to be safe again. Poor Stiles who had suffered so much already, all she wanted was for him to be home, healthy and safe.

“Then we are agreed. Melissa, we are going to need to ensure that we are not interrupted.” Deaton was all business.

“I will figure something out.” The woman responded to him.

“When should we do this?” Scott asked

“As soon as possible.” Deaton urged

“I’ll head to the hospital, I’ll let you know when I have something figured out.” Malia watched Melissa leave, a growing anxiety inside of her. She wanted to get this over with as quickly as they could. She just wanted Stiles back.

Then she would focus on figuring out the whole love thing.

*****

“Wow...I didn’t know deer could taste so good.” Malia said, her mouth full of food. Stiles laughed at her adorable enthusiasm. So far he had to say that their date was going really well. Malia had seemed a bit still and unsure of herself at the beginning. Not that he could blame her, the restaurant was pretty fancy and she was still learning societal norms and all that. Normally he wouldn’t have taken her to a place like this since they are both more comfortable in more relaxed atmospheres, but he had wanted to go all out. Luckily for him Malia had grown more at ease as the evening progressed.

“Venison, that’s what we call deer meat. And yes it is particularly good here.” Stiles said taking a bit of his own food.

“Why not just call it deer?”

“I don’t know, the English language is a strange thing. Beef is cow but lamb is lamb.” Stiles laughed again at the scowl on her face. “Hey, don’t take it out of me. I didn’t come up with the names.”

“It’s not that...just how am I supposed to learn all of this? Every time I turn around there is a new rule that I have to learn or relearn. It’s exhausting.”

“Hey, look I know it’s overwhelming” Stiles reached out and took her hand, “But you are doing really well and nobody expects more out of you than you can give. You’ll get the hang of it, I know you will.”

“I’m glad I have you Stiles” She smiled and squeezed his hand. Her hand was warm in his. Stiles was glad to see that her body temperature was finally regulating.

“I’m glad I have you too, now are you ready for dessert? I hear it’s almost as good as their deer meat.”

*****

“Okay, so I managed to get Stiles on my rounds so no one else should interrupt you. I also changed his paperwork to include four scratches on the back of his neck. We are doing it during visiting hours so the large crowd doesn’t attract attention. That being said, please try to keep it as quiet as possible.” His mom instructed them all. The all nodded and exchanged nervous looks. Scott could smell the anxiety coming from each member of his pack. Not that Scott could blame any of them, he was feeling the exact same way right about now.

“Let’s do it,” He said, hoping he sounded more confident than he felt. The group made their way to Stiles’ room. The sounds of beeping and breathing were all that could be heard when they closed the door.

Scott took a long look at his friend. Stiles was still pale and covered in injuries, but the bruises and cuts were visibly starting to heal. Scott would give anything to be able to give Stiles even a fraction of his healing ability. He watched as Malia walked over to Stiles and took his hand. She winced slightly as black pain entered her veins.

“His vitals are all normal and stable” His mom said softly as she wrote something on her clipboard. “I will be back in a half an hour. I wish I could stay, but someone will notice if I don’t do my rounds.” She gave Scott a pained look.

“It’s okay mom,” He said as she came over to hug him. He held her tightly back, “It’s all going to be okay.” She pulled away from him and nodded. Then she went over and kissed Stiles on the forehead

“See you soon,” She whispered and with one last worried glance at Scott she left the room.

“You ready?” Scott asked, meeting Malia’s eyes. She nodded and took a seat next to Stiles, still holding his hand. Scott walked over and placed his claws lightly on the back of her neck. Deaton gently lifted up Stiles’ head so that Scott could place his claws.

“Remember, find him and bring him back, but be careful what doors you open,” Deaton warned, giving them his usual vague advice.

“Good luck,” Derek said, looking at them with a grim expression.

"You can do this" Lydia assured them, but the break in her voice gave her away. Scott looked around at the worried faces of all of his friends. Suddenly he was frozen as a wave of anxiety washed over him. What if he couldn't do this? What if he and Malia got trapped or somehow made things worse for Stiles?

“Please just bring my son back.” The Sheriff whispered. It was that broken plea that finally spurred Scott into action. With a deep breath, he plunged his claws into the back of Malia and Stiles’ necks.


	22. Chapter 22

Stiles kicked off his shoes and threw his backpack next to the door. He headed into the kitchen where he knew his mom would be making dinner. Practice always made him incredibly hungry and he was glad for a home cooked meal every night.  


“Hey honey, how was school today?” She said the moment he plopped into a chair.  


“Coach was on a warpath today, both in class and on the field. Greenberg answered a question wrong and Coach tore him apart. I thought Greenberg was gonna cry. I mean the kid’s an idiot but he didn’t deserve that.” Stiles said as his mom placed a cut up apple and peanut butter in front of him to tide him over until dinner.  


“Sounds like coach was having a bad day, maybe his mom forgot to pack his lunch.” Stiles snickered at the immaturity of his mother’s joke. They had the same sense of humor and Stiles laughed harder around her than anyone else.  


“Well let’s hope she remembers it tomorrow, I don’t want to do that many suicides ever again.” Stiles munched happily on the apple. “So how was your day at school mom?” It was a daily routine that Stiles quite enjoyed. He would come back each night and he and his mom would swap war stories. She never failed to come back with a hilarious story about what one of her first graders had done that day.  


On nights when he dad didn’t have to work late, he would join them for dinner and add to the collection of hilarious stories. Other than the supernatural killings, Beacon Hills crime was usually fairly minor stuff done by fairly stupid people thus lending itself to some funny stories.  


Of course some days one of them would have a bad day and didn’t have any funny stories to tell. So instead the other two would listen to what was wrong and offer comfort, or if the person didn’t feel like talking they other two would simply distract them with random talk.  
All in all, it was a good life.  


*****  


Malia and Scott found themselves in the Stilinski’s backyard.  


“That’s it Stiles, you’re getting the hang of it.” They heard the Sheriff say encouragingly. They had entered a scene of familial bliss. The Sheriff was teaching a young Stiles, maybe 5 or 6, how to play baseball and Claudia Stilinski was sitting in a chair near them reading. At one point, Stiles got frustrated at his ability to catch and threw his glove down. His mother looked up as his father walked over to him and knelt in front of the boy.  


“I’ll never be able to catch the ball Dad,” Stiles said miserably.  


“Son, have you ever heard of the saying, ‘Rome wasn’t built in a day’?” Malia watched in amusement as the young boy shook his head, looking like the weight of the world was on his shoulders. Looks like Stiles had always been a bit dramatic. “Well, Rome was a great Empire, but it wasn’t always that way. It took a lot of hard work and a long time to build it up.”  


“So you’re saying that it will take time and hard work for me to be good at baseball?” Stiles said. Malia could practically see the wheels turning in his head. It looks like Stiles had always been clever and quick as well.  


“Exactly, you can’t expect to be good at it right away. Practice makes perfect.”  


“Another saying?” Young Stiles put an impressive amount of sass behind the words.  


“You got it kid” The Sheriff ruffled his hair.  


“Hey, who’s ready for an ice cream break?” Claudia spoke up, “We’ve got stuff for sundaes!”  


“Me!” both the Sheriff and Stiles said in unison.  


“First one there gets an extra scoop!” Claudia yelled and all three of them sprinted into the house. When they had disappeared inside Malia turned her attention to Scott. He was staring at the closed door, his face a mix of emotions.  


“I forgot how happy and carefree Stiles used to be. He pretends and acts like he still is, but it's not as genuine. I think he’s been acting for so long that he almost believes it.” Scott says the words slowly, a far off look in his eyes. Malia isn’t quite sure how to respond. Luckily she doesn’t have to, Scott grabs her hand and wordlessly pulls her to the door. He stops with his hand on the knob and looks at her. She nods at him as understanding passes between them. They have to keep moving, no matter what, they have to continue. Stiles can’t wait much longer.  


*****  


Scott and Malia go through the door and find themselves on a playground. The day was warm and sunny and there are children running everywhere. She turned to Scott for guidance and found him staring at a swingset on the far side of the playground. Two boys who looked to be about 9 or 10 sat there gently swinging back and forth. There was no mistaking who they were, the two dark haired, dark eyed boys seemed to be wrapped up in their own world.  


“Stiles and I used to come here all the time, it was the playground where we met.” Scott smiled reminiscently. “We used to come up with huge elaborate fantasy worlds where we were knights or kings or wizards. We would spend hours on those swings discussing every little detail of our latest world.”  


“That sounds incredible,” Malia said watching young Stiles make arm gestures so big that he nearly fell off of the swing.  


“It was, we used our worlds to escape from reality. My dad’s drinking and him leaving, his mom's sickness and death, the bullies at school. We imagined better worlds, perfect worlds where both of our families could live in peace.” Scott moves to walk over to the swings, but Malia grabbed his arm.  


“Look I know it’s tempting to stay and relive childhood memories but we have to find our Stiles, and he isn’t here.” To her relief Scott nodded and they started walking in the opposite direction.  


*****  


The third memory they pass through is Stiles helping a kid in his class with a history question. He looked to be middle school age.  


“How do you remember all of this stuff?” The boy asks when Stiles finishes listing off a bunch of names and dates.  


“I don’t know, it comes pretty naturally. It’s interesting to me so I remember it.”  


“Well, you are pretty good at teaching it too. I might be able to actually pass this class with you helping me.” The boy gave Stiles a smile. Stiles hesitated for a second but eventually returned it with a proud look in his eyes.  


“I remember this day...I never knew what happened, but one day in 6th grade Stiles suddenly changed, it was the first time since his mom died that he seemed like he had hope for a better future. Like he knew he could heal and be able to move past his mom’s death.”  


“And you think this is the moment that did it?” Malia questioned. It was a nice moment but it seemed fairly simple.  


“Yes, his mom was a teacher. She taught in the elementary school.”  


“So when the boy said that he was good at teaching…”  


“It must’ve made him think of his mom, but for some reason this time it didn’t make him close in on himself like it had previously”  


“When he said he was good at teaching it was like he was telling him that he was like his mom and that flared up a sense of pride inside Stiles. I could see it in his eyes.” Malia explained, realizing why it was such a turning point. Scott pondered that for a moment, connecting the dots in his head.  


“So maybe he decided that he should start living his life in a way that would make his mom proud.”  


“Something like that. Now come on, we have to go.” Malia said. Scott nodded and they walked out the classroom door.  


*****  


They continued to walk through Stiles memories, in each one Stiles was a bit older. They finally got to a memory of a pack movie night that had happened just a little before the Omegas had come to town.  


“We’re not going to see him get tortured are we? I don’t think I could handle that.” Malia paused in front of the loft door.  


“I don’t think so, have you noticed what all of these memories have in common? They are all happy.”  


“You’re right” Malia said thinking about it, “I didn’t realize that. What do you think it means?”  


“I’m not sure, but I think when we walk through this door we will find our Stiles. This is his last really good memory before it all happened.”  


“Then let’s go get Stiles.”


	23. Chapter 23

They walked into the Stilinski household to the sound of laughter. They both stopped short at the sound of a loud laugh that could only belong to Stiles. For some reason, it made Malia sad instead of happy. Before she could puzzle it out on her own Scott spoke up,

“Now that’s a sound I haven’t heard in a really long time.” Malia thought about his words and came to a distressing conclusion. She had never really heard Stiles laugh, a real, loud, carefree laugh. Sure he joked around a lot and smiled and chuckled and gave sarcastic ‘Ha ha’s, but she hadn’t ever heard him laugh like he was currently laughing.

“I’ve never realized that he doesn’t really laugh.” She murmured.

“Yeah, his mom was really good at making him laugh…” The words were barely out of his mouth when they heard a woman’s voice above the laughter. Malia and Scott exchanged a look before following the sounds to the kitchen. They walked in to see Stiles doubled over in laughter and his mom talking animatedly. He was too old for it to be a memory, so it had to be their Stiles. Confirming her thoughts, Stiles looked up at the two of them.

“Scott, Malia! What are you guys doing here?” He said with a huge smile on his face. Malia suddenly had no idea what to do or say. This was the first time in his head that Stiles had acknowledged their presence.

“We just came by to visit,” Scott spoke up.

“I just saw both of you less than an hour ago…” Stiles said a bit suspiciously

“Well, my mom’s working late and you know how bad Malia’s dad is at cooking, so we figured we’d stop by for some of Claudia Stilinski’s famous cooking.” Scott improvised quickly. Malia was impressed by his speedy thinking.

“You guys know you are always welcome for dinner,” Claudia said smiling at them, “I always make plenty.”

“Awesome” Malia said with a smile that she didn’t really feel.

“Well, pop a squat guys, Mom was just telling me stories about her crazy first graders.” Scott and Malia sat down wordlessly. "Are you okay?" Stiles whispered. She nodded in response. "Is something wrong with the pack?"

"Everything's good Stiles, we just came for a visit." Stiles either bought it or decided to drop it, but either way he switched his attention to his mother. The whole thing felt incredibly strange and wrong. Malia realized that Stiles had constructed an entire alternate reality inside of his coma. A world where his mother had never died. That was why he hadn’t woken up yet, the world inside his head was a lot more appealing than the world outside. Somehow they had to figure out a way of making him realize that this wasn’t real. But they had to go about it delicately. Deaton had warned them about messing with Stiles’ head.

Stiles started laughing at something his mom said that Malia hadn’t even heard. While he was distracted she turned to Scott and mouthed “After dinner”. He nodded, showing that he agreed. They had to get Stiles alone to talk to him and they knew that wouldn’t be able to happen until dinner was over.

*****

A short while later, Malia and Scott found themselves eating a delicious dinner with Stiles and his mom. The Sheriff was working late and hadn’t been able to join them. Despite her best efforts to not get swept up in this fake reality, Malia found herself really liking Claudia Stilinski. The woman was easy going, talkative, funny and a damn good cook.

Scott and Malia joined in on the conversation to play the part, and Malia found herself enjoying the it more than she should. She had never seen Stiles as happy as he was sitting at the table with them. It broke her heart knowing that she was going to have to take him away from all of this. She and Scott were going to have to bring him back to a reality where his body is broken, his mind tormented, and his mother dead.

She couldn't blame Stiles for wanting to stay in his false reality.

Malia was brought back to the moment when Stiles took her hand under the table and laced their fingers together. Malia suddenly felt a rush of sadness. Because this was Stiles holding her hand, but it was not really her Stiles. All the feelings that she had tried to push down since Stiles was taken washed over her. She really missed her boyfriend. She missed talking to him and seeing him smile. She missed his lame jokes and hyperactive tendencies. She missed the way his lips felt against hers.

The boy sitting next to her was not the Stiles that she had grown to love. This perfect reality was not the one that she wanted to be in. Living means that you have to experience the bad and the ugly along with the good and the beautiful. Malia knew that back in reality Stiles would be broken, but she preferred a broken Stiles to a falsely happy one. Even though she loved seeing him like this, happy and laughing, she knew that they had to put an end to it.

She needed her Stiles back.

*****

They were finally able to get Stiles alone in his room. After they had finished dinner, Stiles had insisted on washing the dishes. Malia and Scott had helped him, desperately aware of how much time they were wasting. They couldn’t afford to stay in Stiles’ head much longer and Stiles himself didn’t have much time.

“What’s wrong?” Stiles said as he closed the door. Scott and Malia exchanged a look, not having any idea where to begin. “Come on, I know something’s wrong. You two looked nervous at dinner and you keep exchanging those very significant looks.”

“Okay Stiles, we have something to tell you, and it’s going to sound incredibly crazy so we need you to hear us out.” Scott began. Malia sat next to Stiles on his bed and took his hand. Scott sat in his desk chair and wheeled it next to the bed. Stiles looked between the two of them, a solemn expression on his face.

“Stiles, has anything felt wrong or off to you recently?” Malia asked him.

“What do you mean?”

“I mean, have you had any feelings that something wasn’t right?” Malia figured that this reality he constructed couldn’t be 100% perfect. Some part of Stiles had to know that it wasn’t right.

“I, um...no, well I don’t know. Maybe.” Stiles said, shifting nervously on the bed.

“This isn’t real Stiles.” Scott said, jumping right in.

“What do you mean? What isn’t real?”

“This. Everything. This isn’t reality.” Scott said as gently as possible. Stiles jumped off the bed and looked at them angrily. Malia and Scott also stood up.

“Stiles think, every time something didn’t feel right it was because it wasn’t right. Think about what has happened recently. I know you know something is wrong.” Malia said, taking a step towards Stiles. Stiles put his hand up to stop her and squeezed his eyes shut.

“No, no stop. I don’t know what you are talking about. This is real, it’s all real.” He sounded like someone who didn’t believe his words but desperately wanted to.

“Stiles, you are in a coma right now. All of this is a reality you constructed inside your mind. It’s not real Stiles.” Scott said. Malia winced at the bluntness of his words, but she knew there was no other way to give the information.

“Shut up!” Stiles screamed and backed against the wall. He hunched over and covered his ears. Malia’s eyes widened at the anger in his voice. All of a sudden the room grew darker and everything started to shake. Malia stumbled over to Scott and grabbed his arm.

“Scott, he’s losing it, we have to do something.” She yelled over the noise. He started to say something in response but stopped and pointed to something on the other side of the room. Malia followed his finger and saw a redheaded figure with a knife walking towards Stiles.

“I brought my favorite knife to work with today Stiles.” He sneered. Stiles looked up at him with a mixture of horror and confusion.

“Who are you, how do you know my name?”

“You know who I am Stiles, we spent a lot of quality time together.” He took a step closer as Stiles fell back against the wall in an effort to get away. Malia ran forward and punched the guy. He stumbled back and disappeared. Malia went over and knelt next to Stiles. The room was still shaking and she was afraid everything was going to fall apart.

“Stiles, look at me.” She said gently but the boy didn’t heed her words. Scott came over and kneeled next to her.

“Stiles, we can help you. We can take you out of this place and bring you back, you just have to come with us.” Scott tried.

“Stiles, come with us.” Malia put her hand on his shoulder. All of a sudden his head snapped up. He looked at Scott and Malia with a mixture of fury and hate in his eyes.

“Get away from me! There is nowhere to go, this is real.” He shouted frantically.

“No Stiles...” Scott started but Stiles cut him of.

“Get out. GET OUT!” He screamed and a wave of force hit Scott and Malia sending them flying backwards.

Malia sat up and blinked at the bright lights. It took her a few seconds to realize she was sitting on the hospital floor. Stiles had managed to force them out of his mind. She looked around and saw Scott sitting next to her and the rest of the pack gathered around them. However no one was looking at them, they were all focused on the bed. That’s when Malia heard it. The unnerving sound of a flatline.


	24. Chapter 24

Malia

For a moment, it seemed like time had frozen. No one moved, there was no sound in the room except the constant drone of the flatline.

Then the room suddenly burst into motion. Nurses and a Doctor rushed into the room followed shortly by Scott’s mother. Malia just sat on the floor in shock unable to believe that the scene in front of her was really happening.

“Get them out of here” Malia heard someone yell. Melissa started herding the shell-shocked people out of the door. Malia felt someone pick her off the ground and pull her out the door. She twisted and managed to get one quick look at the pale Stiles before her view was obscured by people. She fell against a wall once out in the hall and slid to the floor. She buried her face in her hands and sent out a silent plea to whatever or whoever might be listening to please let him live.

“Please, Stay with me Stiles.” She whispered so softly she knew no one else could hear it. Stiles couldn’t die, he just couldn’t, her entire world would collapse.

Malia could hear muffled yells and noises from inside the room, but she tried to separate herself from them. She felt like her body was an empty shell, she was physically present, but that was all. She couldn’t think about anything without it somehow leading back to Stiles, so she instead just focused on the blackness of the back of her eyelids. She stared at it until she felt like it was swallowing her up. Every single second felt like an eternity.

*****

Scott

He jumped up as soon as he got his bearings and ran over to his best friend’s bed. He put his hand over Stiles', trying to take the pain away, but instead he found that there was no pain. He stared at the face of his lifeless friend, half expecting his eyes to flicker open. This couldn’t be happening. He had failed Stiles, his friend was dead and it was all his fault.

Scott felt himself being pulled away from Stiles. He started to yell and protest until his eyes found his mother. She wrapped him in a hug and he felt tears begin to fall.

“Mom…” He choked

“I know honey, but the doctors are going to do everything they can. But we need to clear the room.” She pulled back and took his face in her hands. “Scott, do you hear me? We need to get everyone out.” He managed to pull himself out of the haze he was in. He was the alpha and he had been given a task.

“Everyone out, give them room.” He shouted. He grabbed Liam and pulled him out of the room. Derek pulled Malia up and his mom ushered the rest out. Then she went back inside and closed the door. Scott flinched at the sound of it slamming shut. This wasn't how it was supposed to be. He and Malia were supposed to help lead Stiles out. They were supposed to come back to the real world and see him open up his eyes. Today was the day he was supposed to save Stiles, not lose him forever.

This wasn't what was supposed to happen.

*****

The Sheriff

The atmosphere in the room became steadily more intense when they saw the blood dripping from Malia and Scott’s noses. The Sheriff didn't know exactly what it meant, but he knew enough to know that it was nothing good.

“What does it mean?” He said turning to Derek for an answer. The man opened his mouth to respond, but before he could both Malia and Scott fell forcefully to the ground, almost as if they had been pushed. At that exact moment, a long beep filled the room. The Sheriff’s stomach dropped, he felt like he had been punched in the gut.

“No” he whispered, it was barely audible over the eternal beep. He stared intently at his son’s unmoving chest. Maybe whatever Malia and Scott did would just take a second to kick in. Maybe at any moment Stiles would take in a breath and open his eyes.

The Sheriff was staring so intently at Stiles that he didn't notice the other people filling the room. He only noticed when a dark haired women blocked his view to his son. He tried to move around her, but she placed her hands on his shoulders.

“....Stiles, but you need to move.” He realized she was speaking to him and tried to focus.

“W-what?”

“The doctors are going to try to save Stiles, but you have to let them do their job. I need you to go out in the hall. I promise I will let you know the second something changes.” He nodded and numbly allowed himself to be steered out of the room by Melissa. Once out in the hall he slammed his fist against the wall. He brought back his hand to do it again but was stopped by Argent. He looked into the eyes of a man who had lost his child, someone who knew better than anyone what he was feeling.  
“How do you do it?” The Sheriff asked brokenly, not needed to explain himself further. He knew Argent would know exactly what he was talking about.

“Hopefully you won’t have to find out.”

*****

Lydia

She wanted to scream. More than anything she wanted to scream. The more time that passed with Malia and Scott inside Stiles’ head the more she wanted to scream. But it was a hospital, she knew she needed to keep it in. If she screamed the nurses would come running in and they all would have some explaining to do. Lydia didn't want to think about what her urge to scream meant, so she ignored it. Or at least she tried to, but the more time passed the harder it got to push down the urge.

So she left. She quietly backed out of the door. She didn't think that anyone even noticed, they were all too focused on what was happening with Malia, Scott, and Stiles. As soon as she was out the door she ran. She ran until she was out of the hospital. She ran to her car and turned it on, and turned the music up full blast. Only then did she give in, only then did she let out the ear-piercing scream she had been holding in for hours.

Lydia screamed until she ran out of air and her chest felt like it was going to explode. Once she had stopped she heard silence, she couldn’t even hear her radio. Then through the silence she heard the beeping of the monitor attached to Stiles’ heart. It beeped steadily a couple times, then it sped up, faster and fast, and then…it stopped.

Tears began to slip down her face as she listened to the progression. All the noise came rushing back suddenly. The blaring music, the sounds of sirens, the far away sounds of people talking. Lydia jumped out of the car and began running back to Stiles’ room. She rounded the corner and was met with a horrifying sight. All of her friends were scattered around the hallway, all wearing masks of distress, disbelief, and fear.

Lydia sank to her knees. She didn't need to ask anyone what had happened. She had heard it, she had felt it. A feeling of despair washed over Lydia. Maybe if she had just given into her banshee feelings this all could’ve been avoided. She would have known what was going to happen and stopped it, she could have prevented it all. She was getting better with her powers, but she needed to learn to trust her feelings more.

And now because she hadn't she had lost one of her best friends in the world.

*****

Derek

He didn't often miss being the Alpha, but times like this he did. Times when he felt helpless and useless. Here Scott and Malia were risking their lives to help Stiles and he could do nothing to help. Derek paced in the back of the room, wishing desperately that he could do something.

He hadn't been able to keep Stiles from being taken, he hadn't been able to locate him, he hadn't had any idea how to bring him out of his coma, and now he couldn’t do anything to help those bringing him out of the coma.

Derek might not be the Alpha, but it would always feel responsible for the rag tag pack he had assembled. He felt a duty to protect them and guide them, and he had failed at both of those. He had gotten so caught up in helping Braeden find the Desert Wolf that he had ignored his duties to his pack.

Derek was brought out of his musings by the sound of bodies thumping and Stiles’ heart monitor coding. He looked between Scott and Malia on the floor and the lifeless Stiles. Something had gone wrong inside his head. They had said or done something that he rejected, from the looks of it he had pushed them out of his mind. Whatever had happened was too much for him to handle. Stiles had lost the battle for his mind.

“Everyone out, give them room.” He heard Scott yell finally spurring them all into action. Derek went over and took Malia’s arm to help her off the floor. He lifted her up and set her on her feet where she swayed slightly. Putting his arm around her shoulder, he led her out of the room. He saw Argent leading Isaac out and everyone else filing out on their own. Everyone except the Sheriff. Derek took a step to go back and get him when he saw Melissa approach the man. Knowing she had it covered he turned his attention back to the hallway. Everyone sat or stood in a state of shock. The Sheriff punched a wall when he came out, but no one except Argent seemed to notice or care. Even Deaton, the usual stone-faced, emotionless man, seemed to be a bit shaken.

*****

Argent

He listened to the steady heartbeat of Stiles and tried to remain calm, he couldn’t believe that there was another teenager whose life was in danger. That was what he as a hunter was supposed to prevent. It was the sacred duty of the hunters to protect the innocent and take care of anything dangerous. He had failed. He had run away from his responsibilities and now Stiles was in a hospital bed dying. To make matters worse, it had been rogue hunters who had hurt him. If he had been here he may have been able to convince the hunters to leave or done something to help.

“Hey,” Isaac nudged him, “this wasn't your fault.” Chris opened his mouth to argue but then realized that Isaac could read him like a book.

“I should’ve came back with you.”

“You were looking for Kate, no one can blame you for that.” Isaac said softly

“I knew it was a lost cause, yet I still kept looking. I couldn’t face coming back here yet.”

“No one can blame you for that either.” Argent gave the boy a smile, unable to voice his gratitude.

“What does it mean?” They heard the Sheriff ask. They both turned to look in horror at the blood dripping from Scott and Malia’s nose. Argent froze, knowing it meant something was wrong. He couldn’t watch Stiles die, he couldn’t watch a teenager’s life drain from him without thinking of Allison. Every part of him wanted to run, but he found that he couldn’t move. Not when he heard the flatline tone. Not when Isaac’s weight slumped against him. Not when the nurses and doctors burst into the room.

He was only brought back to the present by a broken “No” uttered by the Sheriff. It was a sound that he knew well. The sound of a man completely broken by the loss of a child. Chris grabbed Isaac and followed the others out into the hall. His hunter training as he pushed his feelings down and focused on what needed to be done. He looked as he heard the Sheriff slam his fist into the wall. He quickly grabbed his arm before he could do it again. The fight went out of the man and he looked into his eyes with a look of pain that matched the pain in Argent’s own eyes.

“How do you do it?” The Sheriff whispered. Argent didn't need an explanation, he knew exactly what the Sheriff was asking about. How did he deal with the pain of losing a child, how do you manage to keep going when your only reason to live has been extinguished. Both he and the Sheriff had lost their wives and only child.

Argent shook his head. He couldn’t think like Stiles was already gone. There was a team of medical professionals working to bring Stiles back to life. They couldn’t give up hope yet. So Argent put his hand on the Sheriff’s shoulder and gave him what he hopped was a reassuring smile.

“Hopefully you won’t have to find out.”

*****

Liam

He shifted nervously from foot to foot. It was bad enough that Stiles was hurt, but now Scott was putting himself in danger. Liam couldn’t lose them both. They had both helped him so much in so many ways. They had given him friends, a family, a place to belong. They helped him control his anger. They grounded him. They kept him safe.

Liam wasn't sure if he could survive without either of them, but he was sure that he couldn’t survive without both of them. He couldn’t lose them both. Olivia slipped her hand into his and he stopped shifting. The human connected made him feel the slightest bit better. He squeezed her hand in thanks.

When the flatline started his hand went limp and slipped from hers. Part of Liam’s brain vaguely registered that Scott was alive but most of it was screaming that Stiles was dead.

Stiles who let him crawl through his window at all hours and sleep on his floor. Stiles who would play video games with him for hours even though he knew he had no chance of winning at all. Stiles who would always give him a sarcastic verbal kick in the butt when he needed it. Stiles who would give him an inspirational pep talk when he needed one of those. Fun, crazy, full of life Stiles. There was no way he was dead.

Liam felt arms wrapping around him and looked down to see Olivia embracing him. They were out in the hall, although he wasn't exactly sure how they had gotten there. Olivia didn't say anything, merely held him tight.

As the disbelief and shock began to fade away, the anger began to set in. There was understandable anger, like the anger he felt towards those who had put Stiles in the hospital. But there was also the unreasonable anger, directed towards many undeserving towards it. Liam was angry and Stiles for always being so reckless, he was angry at Scott for not protecting him and not being able to bring him properly out of the coma, he was angry at himself for not being able to do anything to save Stiles. He was angry at Olivia and Remy and Dawson for bringing the hunters here. He was angry at Deaton for not having any more ideas. He was just angry.

It was a kind of all consuming anger that Liam had felt before. It was misguided and dangerous. Liam knew he had to get a handle on it before he did something stupid.

Carefully he stepped out of Olivia’s arms. He mumbled that he needed to go for a walk and quickly set off out of the hospital and into the woods where he could yell and punch a tree or two.

*****  
Kira

She didn't take her eyes off of Scott the entire time. She watched him carefully, gauging his facial expressions and trying to figure out what was happening. She saw a mixture of pain, confusion, happiness, sadness, and many others flicker across his face. She could not figure out if he and Malia were succeeding or not.

Kira’s fingers itched to hold her Katana. She felt unwhole without it in her hands. She wished that there was some foe that she could cut down. She would rather fight a bloody battle against 100 enemies than stand in that room and just wait. The silence in the room was overwhelming, she felt like it was crushing her.

Kira stared at Scott. Willing him to come back to her and to bring Stiles with him. A soft click reached her ears and she turned to see the door closing. She glimpsed red hair passing out of sight. She looked around to see if anyone else had noticed and caught Dawson’s eye. He sent her a questioning look. She shrugged her shoulders in response. They both knew what Lydia’s power’s were, but neither of them were willing to voice what it might mean. Kira looked around the room and saw that no one else had paid any attention. Isaac and Argent were whispering quietly but everyone else was just focused on Stiles, Scott, and Malia.

Kira turned her attention back to Scott just as a grimace flashed across his face. She took an instinctive step forward as blood dripped from his nose. She looked at Malia and noticed the same thing was happening. She glanced at Stiles and saw that he was pale, sweaty, and still unmoving. Kira gasped when Scott and Malia went flying to the floor. She ran over to Scott just as the flatline sound began. She put her hand on Scott’s shoulder, but he jumped up from the floor and away from her. She watched as he ran over to Stiles’ bed.

Kira felt tears in her eyes as Scott was comforted by his mom. She saw him snap into Alpha mode as he ordered everyone out and pulled Liam out. She numbly followed them and leaned against a wall, wrapping her arms around her middle. She closed her eyes for a minute and tried to collect her thoughts.

Scott and Malia had failed. Something had gone wrong and Stiles’ heart had stopped. But the Doctors could bring him back, they had to bring him back.

“Please let them bring him back.” She whispered quietly as she slid to the floor.

*****

Deaton

He sat in the uncomfortable hospital chair and racked his brain for anything that could help. He hadn't gotten a chance to talk to Scott or Malia, but he could guess what had happened. Somehow Stiles had rejected their presence in his mind and had managed to throw them out. Whatever they had done had pulled him out of the coma he was in, but instead of waking up like they had hoped, Stiles’ had gone into shock.

Deaton wished he could grill Scott and Malia about what exactly had happened, he hated not knowing. But he knew everyone was in too much shock and pain at that current moment. So he could only stand by idly and hope that the doctors could bring him back.

Even if they did manage to bring him back, Deaton wasn't sure what their next step would be. Stiles would probably still be in his coma and their current methods clearly weren't working. He had no idea what else to try. He had checked every resource he had multiple times and had come up with nothing. Deaton gave a frustrated sigh and ran his hands over his head. He hated not knowing how to solve something. He was the apothecary. He was supposed to guide and advise the pack. Scott is particularly important to him. Deaton cared greatly for the boy and respected him greatly as an Alpha. The boy and his pack had faced terrible foes and defeated them. Deaton had done what he could to aid this process. He wasn't always completely honest and he wasn't always compassionate, but he did always try his best to aid Scott and his pack in whatever way he could,

He was the apothecary. It was his duty to help. This time however all he had ended up doing was sending Stiles into cardiac arrest.

*****

Isaac

He glanced over at Argent, who was watching Scott, Malia and Stiles apprehensively. Isaac knew that he felt guilty about not being there. Every since Allison had died, Argent had tried to live his life in the way that Allison would approve of. And everyone knew that Allison would do anything to protect her friends.

That being said, Isaac knew what it was like to not feel ready to come back to Beacon Hills. After all, he hadn't come back when Chris had first come back. Isaac hadn't been able to face the memories of Allison that he knew he would see at every turn. So he had understood completely when Argent had called him and told him that he was staying in Mexico. Isaac had quickly agreed to go to Beacon Hills in his stead. He had known that it was time for him to return.

“Hey,” Isaac nudged him, “this wasn't your fault.” Chris looked like he was going to argue, but thought better of it. The only person who had been able to read Chris better than Isaac had been Alison.

“I should’ve came back with you.” Argent said with a sad shake of his head

“You were looking for Kate, no one can blame you for that.” Isaac said softly so no one else in the room could hear what they were saying.

“I knew it was a lost cause, yet I still kept looking. I couldn’t face coming back here yet.”

“No one can blame you for that either.” Isaac said in a knowing voice. Chris gave him a small smile. It was a sad smile, but Isaac saw a bit of relief in his eyes.

“What does it mean?” They heard the Sheriff ask. Isaac felt his stomach drop when he turned to his friends. He knew immediately that their plan wasn't working.

Isaac watched in horror at the series of events over the next few moments. He felt Argent pulled him out of the door. Isaac’s brain refused to compute what was happening. He couldn’t watch another one of his friends die. He just couldn’t. He and Stiles may have gotten off to a super rough start, but somehow the boy had come to mean an incredible amount to him. Stiles was one of his best friends. He couldn’t lose him.

*****

Melissa

She began running as soon as she heard the code blue. She ran out of the client’s room she was in without an explanation and down the stairs to Stiles’ room. She arrived just after the Doctor and nurses. She was overwhelmed by the amount of people as she rushed into the room, but her gaze quickly found her son. She went over and drew him into a hug. He sobbed her name and her heart nearly broke. She had never wished more than that moment that she could take away all the hurt and the pain from his life.

“I know honey, but the doctors are going to do everything they can. But we need to clear the room.” She would have more time to comfort her son later, but right now she had to make sure that they did everything they could for Stiles. When Scott didn't respond she stepped back, taking his face in her hands and forcing his eyes up to meet hers. Scott, do you hear me? We need to get everyone out.” She watched in relief as his eyes cleared and he nodded. He shouted that they all needed to leave and grabbed Liam and left. Everyone else followed suit. Everyone that is except for the Sheriff. He stood rooted to the spot, staring at his son as tears slipped down his face.

Melissa went up to him and planted herself in between the Sheriff and Stiles. She put her hands on his shoulders and tried to get him to move. He stared in a daze at her for a few seconds before absorbing what she was saying and allowing himself to be led out of the room by her. She caught Scott’s eye as she moved to close the door. She tried to communicate with a look that it would all be okay, but she wasn't sure he got it.

She shut the door and finally paid attention to what was happening with Stiles. They had laid him flat and cut open his shirt. The Doctor was preparing the defibrillator and had the paddles in his hands. Melissa moved to the foot of Stiles’ bed.

“Clear” the Doctor said as he placed the paddles against Stiles’ skin. The boy’s body lifted and went limp again, the flatline still droning on. The Doctor stepped back and let the paddles recharge before stepping closer again. “Clear” he said as he shocked Stiles again with the same result.

“Come on baby” Melissa murmured. She felt her Nurse mode slipping as she watched the Doctor shock Stiles. She was unable to separate herself from him emotionally. She was not just a nurse watching a teenage boy die, she was a mother watching her son.

“Clear” The Doctor closed his eyes for a second when there was again no response. Melissa knew he would only try a limited about of times. The Doctor once again placed the paddles against Stiles’ skin. The shock pulsed through Stiles’ body.

Then Melissa heard the best sound she had ever heard in her life.

The sound of a heartbeat.


	25. Chapter 25

Back in the loft, the mood was sombre. When Melissa had come out a few hours earlier and told them that Stiles was alive it was as if a weight had been lifted off of all of their shoulders. They had been trying and failing to reconcile with the fact that Stiles was dead, but now they didn't have to, because he was alive. There had been smiles and tears of joy and a lot of hugging. Stiles was still unconscious, but at least his condition was stable. Malia and the others had stayed for as long as they were allowed to stay. They hadn't said very much, just listened to the steady sound of Stiles' heartbeat monitor. 

Melissa finally had come and told them that they needed to leave, but she promised to keep a close eye on him and alert them to any changes. They had all reluctantly filed out of the hospital and headed to the loft.

Once they all settled into Derek's loft a heavy silence fell upon them. After the shock of the earlier events had started to wear off they all began to realized that they were no closer to helping to save Stiles. Their one and only plan had backfired horribly and now they were all at a loss for what to do.

"Eh" Derek said suddenly, clearing his throat. Malia and a few others jumped at the sudden noise. Malia watched as Derek nervously rubbed his hands together. An anxious gesture that reminded her so much of Stiles it almost brought tears to her eyes. "So I'm going to ask the question that I'm sure is on everyone's mind. What the hell happened in there?" His gaze shifted to Malia and Scott. Malia grabbed Scott's hand for support, she wasn't ready to relive the horrors they had seen, yet she knew they had to fill everyone in.

"Okay, well first we started by going through a series of memories. They went in order, starting when Stiles was a kid to right before he was kidnapped. We saw them play out like scenes in front of us and none of the people in the scene seemed to notice us." Scott started off  
"What were some of these memories?" Deaton questioned

"Scott and Stiles on the swings making up fantasy worlds, Stiles playing catch with his dad and his mom watching, Stiles bringing home good grades, Stiles helping his dad with a case, Me and Stiles watching..." Malia trailed off, thinking of the memory of her and Stiles snuggling on the couch watching the Titanic. Malia had cried and Stiles had comforted her as he hid his own sniffles. It had been a perfectly simple night.

"The weird thing about all of this is that every single one of the memories were happy. Not a single sour moment in Stiles' life was included in the numerous memories we saw."

"That is curious, what else happened?" Deaton prodded, knowing that there was more to tell. Scott and Malia exchanged a look. This was the hardest part to describe.

"When we caught up to right before he was kidnapped we were led to the Stilinski house. But this time was different. This time we knew it wasn't a memory." Scott hesitated on the next part, glancing at the Sheriff who had his head in his hands. Malia wasn't sure how much he was listening.

"How'd you know it wasn't a memory?" Braeden asked.

"Because this time Stiles interacted with us... and Stiles was his current age, but...his mom was still alive." At Scott's words the Sheriffs head snapped up and he looked between the two of them with shock on his face.

"Claudia?"

"Yes" Malia nodded "Stiles was in the kitchen with her while she made dinner. They talked about their days like it was something they did every day. Mrs. Stilinski   
invited the two of us to dinner when our presence was noticed."

"It seemed like everything else was the same. Stiles knew about werewolves, he and Malia were still dating. Everything else seemed to match up, except he had never been kidnapped and his mother had never died." Scott added

"Interesting, it looks like the bad memories of the kidnapping and torture were too much for Stiles to handle so he created a false reality where that had never happened and included his mother in it as a comforting presence in his tormented mind." Deaton said in a calculating tone that made Malia irrationally angry. She wanted to scream that this was Stiles he was talking about, not some random nameless patient. Would it kill him to show a little emotion?

"So you had dinner?" Kira nudged Scott, clearly sensing the tension in the room that had arisen from Deaton's words.

"Yeah, it was nice. We ate and talked and played our roles until we could get Stiles alone. After dinner we went up to his room, and that's where things got out of hand."

"We tried to see if anything felt wrong to him. I figured that this reality he constructed couldn't be perfect. Stiles is too smart, he had to have noticed something that didn't fit together perfectly." Malia added

"And I think he did. When we started questioning him, he looked unsure and then he got really agitated and even mad. But it seemed like a defensive type of mad, almost like he would do or say anything to deny reality and stay in his little world."

"So he got angry at you and pushed you out of his mind?" Derek guessed

"There was a little bit more to it than that..." Malia said, shuddering at the memory. Lydia moved to sit next to her. She put her arm around Malia and said gently,

"Tell us what happened." Malia was thankful for the comforting touch. Malia normally would have turned to Stiles when she needed a reassuring gesture. She hadn't realized how much she had come to count on them. Stiles always was there with a steadying hand on her shoulder, a guiding hand on her back, a reassuring squeeze of her hand, or an loving embrace. He had an uncanny ability of sensing when she needed his touch and when she would rather stand strongly on her own. Although Lydia's gesture did little to quell the ache in her gut, it did help to steady her and give her strength. Taking a deep breath, she began talking,

"Stiles got angry, scary angry. In a way that the Stiles we know and love would never get. Then the room started shaking and the sky grew dark. Then this figure appeared out of nowhere holding a knife. He said something to Stiles about using his favorite knife on him. I think it was one of his torturers, but Stiles acted like he had never met him before. I could tell that he still terrified Stiles though. I punched the guy and he disappeared. Scott and I tried to talk Stiles down but he wouldn't listen. The room just kept shaking harder and harder. We couldn't get Stiles to listen..." Malia trailed off, unable to keep talking about the horrid memory.

"It was like something had broken inside of him. It didn't even really seem like he was able to connect who we were. It was almost like objectively he knew who were but there was no emotions attached. We weren't Scott and Malia, best friend and girlfriend. We were Scott and Malia, the phonies who were trying to shatter his perfect world. Eventually he screamed at us to get out and next thing I knew where were on the hospital floor." When Scott finished talking no one said anything for a while. Malia tried to ignore the feeling of hopelessness that washed over her. They had only had that one idea and it hadn't worked, what the hell were they supposed to do now.

"This is worse than I had imagined" Deaton finally spoke up "I thought Stiles was not waking up because he was pushing back the memories of his torture, but it is a lot more than that. Stiles is not just running away from the events of the past few weeks, he is running away from his life entirely. He's created his perfect world and he will hold onto it at all costs."

"So what can we do?" Liam asked, shifting anxiously in his seat.

"Can we try the same plan again? Now that we have more information we can come up with a plan to break Stiles out of his reality in the most gentle way possible." Dawson spoke up for the first time.

"We don't really have any other options. Going inside of Stiles' head was the only plan we could come up with." Braeden reminded them

"I don't know...it's risky. Stiles' mind will be more delicate now that we rocked the boat. If something goes wrong a second time I fear that he will not be able to come back from it." Deaton said slowly, worry etched in his face.

"Then I'll go in this time." The Sheriff spoke up. Malia turned to look at him in shock. He was sitting up straight and looking around at them with a determined expression. "It seems like the root of Stiles' fantasy world is Claudia. Stiles and I got through losing her once, I think it has to be me to help him through losing her again. I am the only one who truly understands 100% what Stiles is going through." Malia found herself nodding as the Sheriff talked.

"He's right. He is Stiles' dad, he is his best chance at breaking him out of reality without setting him off." Malia said

"Are you sure you can handle it? Claudia will be there inside of Stiles' fantasy and as tempting as it will be you will have to resist it." Chris spoke up. His voice had a slight sadness to it and Malia was wondering if he was thinking of his own wife or child. Thinking about what it would be like to see them one more time.

"I understand, it will be hard and hurt like hell, but for Stiles, I can do it. And having Scott by my side will help. Just like when Claudia died." The Sheriff caught Scott's eye and Malia heard the boy's breath hitch just a bit. She didn't need to look to see the tears in Scott's eyes.

"I'm still not sure if going back inside his mind is the best course of action. He is extremely vulnerable right now." Deaton objected quietly.  
"Stiles isn't going to be able to pull himself out, this fantasy is something that he has been yearning for for years. We had to do something to get him out." Scott argued back. Before Deaton could address more concerns the Sheriff's phone rang. The Sheriff looked alarmed when he pulled it out and saw who was calling.

"It's Melissa." He told them "Hello?" The edge in his voice made Malia cringe. "Oh my God..." The Sheriff jumped up suddenly. Malia strained to hear what Melissa was saying on the other end.

_"...Alright now. The doctors got him stable...not sure how long...need to do something...fast."_ Malia heard bits and pieces, her whirling mind was making it extremely hard to concentrate.

"Thank you for telling me...yeah keep me posted. Goodbye." The Sheriff hung up the phone and sat back down. His shoulders hunched and he glanced tiredly around. "Stiles' heart stopped again. The doctors were able to start it back up again but Melissa fears he's taken a turn for the worse. She isn't sure how much longer he has. We had to do something and we have to do it quick. Scott and me going into Stiles' head is the best plan we got." The Sheriff turned to look at Deaton, an almost pleading expression on his face.

"Very well, it seems like we are out of options. We'll head back to the hospital first thing tomorrow." With that said, Deaton stood up and began to put on his coat.

"I suggest everyone get as much sleep as they can" Derek said. Malia leaned heavily into Lydia and resisted rolling her eyes. As if any of them were going to be able to sleep that night.

*****

Stiles woke up in a cold sweat. He could tell that he had a nightmare but when he tried to remember what it was it was all a blur. Attempting to shake it off he hopped out of bed and headed to take a hot shower, it didn't work and by the end of the shower he was still shivering. He knew in his gut that something was wrong, he just couldn't figure out what it was. Deciding that he would figure it out later he grabbed his backpack and headed downstairs. His mom greeted him with a kiss on the forehead and a plate of pancakes. His dad greeted him with a grunt as he sipped his coffee and looked at the paper.

"Did you have a good time last night sweetie?" His mom asked him

"Huh?" Stiles was confused as to what she was talking about.

"It was nice of Scott and Malia to come over wasn't it? They should stop by for dinner more often, they liven the place up..." His mom's voice faded away as Stiles suddenly got a flash of Scott and Malia in his room, telling him awful things about his mom and his life. Stiles shook his head to clear it. That must've been what the dream was about, because Scott and Malia would never say those things in real life. 

"Stiles?" He was brought back to the present when his mom said his name.

"What?"

"I just said that you should invite your friends over on Friday, I'll make my lasagna that everyone likes."

"That sounds great mom." Stiles murmured, not really concentrating. He was still bothered by the dream and the bad feeling in his stomach. He quickly shovelled the rest of his pancakes into his mouth. He wanted to get to school as soon as possible, he wanted to talk to Scott and see if anything was wrong. He grabbed his backpack and ran out the door, yelling goodbye to his parents over his shoulder.

He was driving to school when he was hit by another flash of memory of the dream. It was of Scott telling him that he was in a coma right now and that nothing was real. Stiles quickly pulled over as panic hit him. He closed his eyes and tried to push away the images, but it was no use. 

It was just a dream wasn't it? But it felt so real, he felt like the flashes of Scott and Malia were memories and not just a dream. But if it was real why didn't he remember it happening? And why were they saying that he was in a coma? Nothing made sense.

Stiles' ears were filled with a loud high pitched noise. He saw a series of flashes that made no sense. A younger version of him crying at the hospital, him stabbing Scott with a sword, and him crying out in pain as a laughing woman sliced a knife across his skin. Where were these coming from? It was not like anything of them had really happened, yet every vision felt so real.

Stiles wasn't sure how long he stayed like that, but eventually the visions faded away. The high pitched noise in his head was replaced by a series of double beeps and then the noises faded away also. Stiles took a couple deep breaths to calm himself down.

"What is happening to me?" He whispered quietly, terrified at what he had just experienced.


	26. Chapter 26

Remy gripped Olivia's hand tightly. He felt sick to his stomach with the sense of Deja vu. The entire pack, minus Parrish, was once again gathered in Stiles' room. The hospital staff had been reluctant to let them all visit at once considering how unstable Stiles' condition was and a huge number of people would only get in the way, but the staff had agreed because none of them thought Stiles had much time left.  


If this plan didn't work, they would all be right. If the Sheriff Stilinski couldn't get through to Stiles, then they were out of options. They would all be forced to stand and watch Stiles suffer, unable to do anything. This plan had to work, it was all they had.  


Remy squeezed his sister's hand tighter. If it hurt her, she didn't complain. She would know that Remy needed to support right now. After all, this was all his fault. He was the one who had led his sister and Dawson to Beacon Hills. In his desperation for safety, he hadn't even thought about the danger he was bringing to their doorstep. He should have turned and run when he figured out that the Hunters were following them. He should have tried to lose them before heading to Beacon Hills.  


He had been scared and fully unprepared to be in charge of two young werewolves. In his desperation, he had turned to the only person he could think of to help them. The true Alpha who was both kind and fierce. Based on his research, Remy had known that Scott would take them in and protect them. Remy hadn't even given a second thought to the collateral damage. He hadn't even thought about the fact that Scott had a pack of his own and it was that pack that would have to fight the hunters to keep the three omegas safe.  


And never in a thousand years would Remy have thought that the collateral damage would include a fragile human who had so quickly carved out a place of fondness inside of Remy. Stiles' sharp wit and talkative nature had quickly won over Remy. In fact, Remy had quickly developed a fondness for the entire pack. He liked the life that they were starting in Beacon Hills. Remy wasn't sure what would happen if Stiles didn't make it. Scott had assured Remy that he didn't blame them for the Hunters and that the three of them were now a permanent part of his pack, but who knows how he would feel if his best friend died. Remy wouldn't blame Scott if he never wanted to look at any of them again. The thought of losing Stiles plus the rest of the pack and it being all his fault was almost too much for Remy to bear.  


Sensing his distress, Olivia squeezed his hand and Dawson moved the tiniest bit closer to him. Remy knew better than to reach out to his friend. Dawson was more the suffer alone in silence type. He played everything very close to the vest. That's why Remy was really surprised to see how quickly Dawson had let his guard down around Stiles. After they had gotten over the whole "Hey I'm the werewolf who bit you" weirdness the two had hit it off immediately. Remy suspected that part of the reason Dawson had grown so comfortable around Stiles was his talkativeness. Dawson wasn't much of a talker, and with Stiles he didn't have to be. He could just relax, be himself, and let Stiles run the conversation.  


"This better work," Dawson whispered so quietly that Remy could barely hear it. He nodded his head slightly and whispered back,  


"It will." Dawson didn't acknowledge him but kept staring at Stiles. Olivia squeezed his hand again and he looked down into the worried face of his little sister. She held his hand in one hand and Liam's in the other, and she was gripping both tightly. "It's gonna be okay Liv" he tried to assure her, squeezing her hand back.  


"I know," She said shakily, giving him a small fake smile that didn't reach her eyes. They fell back into silence. Remy caught Liam's eye. The boy looked every bit as young and scared as his sister. Remy turned away, unable to bear the begging look in Liam's eyes. A look begging for everything to be alright like Remy said it would be. Remy couldn't stand letting another person down.  


God please let this work, he thought to himself desperately. He watched Scott line up his nails on the back of the Sheriff and Stiles' necks with a growing feeling of dread inside of him.  


*****  


Scott took a deep breath and pushed his nails in, instinctively closing his eyes. When he opened them back up he found that he and the Sheriff were in Stiles' room back when Stiles was a kid. The room was dark except for a small nightlight in the corner which illuminated the figure of Claudia Stilinski sitting on Stiles' bed.  


"And what type of story would you like to hear tonight? One with princes or knights maybe? Or one with Wizards or Dragons or Racecar Drivers?" His mom asked and Scott couldn't help but smile, remember Stiles' racecar phase.  


"Tell me the story of how you and Daddy met." The Sheriff drew in a sharp breath. Scott looked over to see him watching the scene with a guarded expression on his face.  


"Alright, well I was in college, your father was attending the police academy. We happened to share apartments next to each other. They were these little tiny shacks, barely enough room for a person to live in, but it was all we could afford at the time. Anyways, one night I was desperately trying to bake cookies because my parents were coming up to visit for the first time and I wanted to impress them. Unfortunately, I had no idea how to cook at this point in my life and I ended up setting off the fire alarm...twice." At this young Stiles giggle. It was a wonderfully innocent sound that only a child could make. Scott saw that the Sheriff smiled slightly, either at the sound or the story or maybe both.  


"Was Daddy mad?"  


"Yes, he was furious. After we were allowed back into our apartments the second time he came barging through my door yelling about how he could tell it was my fault based on the smell of smoke. At this point, I was nearly hysterical. It was late at night and I had burnt dozens of cookies and couldn't seem to figure out what was going wrong. So I started yelling back about how I was only trying to impress my parents but I was a complete failure at everything. When I had finished your father didn't say a work. He merely went to the sink and started washing his hands. When I asked him what he was doing he told me that he couldn't very well have dirty hands while cooking."  


"He was gonna cook the cookies for you!" Little Stiles exclaimed.  


"Yes. He told me that he needed to get a good night sleep for an important training test the next day and couldn't afford any more fire drills. So we talked about our lives while he cooked. He also instructed me on how to properly bake the cookies. The conversation was so easy and natural, it was like we had known each other for years. When he had finished he took out beautiful cookies and I hugged him in joy. He laughed and told me that if I ever needed another cooking lesson he was just next door."  


"What happened after that?"  


"Well I proceeded to stop by his apartment for cooking tips. He would sometimes invite me over for a meal or bring me over some leftovers he had. One night I decided to cook for him using all the skills he had given me. Afterwards, he said it was the best food he had ever tasted. Then he asked if I would like to go out sometime to get some dinner that neither of us had cooked."  


"Like a date?"  


"Yes exactly like a date. And I told him that I would love to go on a date with him and the rest is history."  


"I like that story."  


"Me too kiddo, now time for bed."  


"Okay mommy." Stiles said as he settled down further in bed and Claudia tucked the blankets around him.  


"I love you monkey."  


"I love you too mommy." Stiles says sleepily. His mom kissed his forehead and walked out the door, leaving it open just a crack. The Sheriff walked over to his now sleeping son.  


"Sheriff, we have to go." Scott said, gesturing to the door. The Sheriff bent down to kiss Stiles on the head where Claudia had. He stood up straight and nodded at Scott to lead the way. The two of them walked out the door and into the next memory.  


*****  


Jordan sighed yet again as he shuffled paperwork around his desk. His coworker shot him an annoyed glance that he paid no attention to. His mind was someplace far away. His mind was in Stiles' hospital room with the rest of his pack. He hated not being there, but he also knew that someone had to be in the office. The Sheriff's continued absence was understandable, but to the outside world, Parrish had no reason to be spending all of his free time with Stiles. So to avoid suspicion here he was, holed up in an office pretending to care about the cases and paperwork that was crossing his desk.  


Jordan looked over Stiles' case file once again. The official story was that no one had any idea who had taken Stiles or why. When he hadn't come home the Sheriff had put out an APB on the jeep. They had found it abandoned with the side smeared with blood (Parrish himself had taken care of smearing away the gruesome words of _"We will kill you all"_ that had been written on the side of the car).  


The story about how they had found Stiles was a little flimsy, but luckily no one had questioned it too much. The story went that the Sheriff had spent all of his nights driving around looking for Stiles and sometimes was joined by some of Stiles' friends. One night Scott spotted something on the side of the road. He pulled over and found Stiles unconscious and bleeding. He was alive but didn't stir at any of Scott's attempts to rouse him. Scott had immediately called the Sheriff and they had taken Stiles to the hospital.  


Jordan sighed again and caught the eye of his coworker who raised an eyebrow. Jordan merely shrugged and looked back down at the papers on his desk. He tried not to sigh again as he thought about how complicated things would get once Stiles woke up. All he would be able to tell them would be that he was kidnapped and tortured and he had no idea why. They were also going to have to figure out how Stiles managed to escape his kidnappers.  


Jordan's phone lit up, distracting him from his train of thought. He checked it and saw a text from Lydia, who was keeping him updated on the situation.  


_They just went under. So far so good. I'll keep you posted._  


Jordan swallowed the wave of anxiety and bitterness that he couldn't be there and typed back:  


_Wish I was there. Any Banchee feelings yet?_  


Lydia's response was quick:  


_Not yet, but this time I won't keep them to myself._  


Jordan set his phone aside and almost sighed again but caught himself. He picked up the first file off of the pile on his desk and opened it. If he was forced to be at work he might as well get something accomplished. Who knows, maybe a bit of busy work would help to take his mind off of things.  


*****  


"Stiles, come out come out wherever you are." Scott was surprised to hear his own voice as they entered the next memory. They were once again in the Stilinski household. This time it was daylight and they were in the kitchen. Young Scott came padding through, looking under tables and inside cupboards before heading to the next room.  


"Hide and go seek?" Sheriff Stilinski asked. "Yep. Stiles was a pro at it. He knew every nook and cranny of this house. I'll bet you this is the first time I ever gave up. It usually took me forever to find him, but normally I did eventually. But this time I simply could not find him."  


"Where is he hiding?" The Sheriff asked looking around.  


"Wait for it."  


"STILES I GIVE UP. YOU HEAR ME? I HAVE SEARCHED THIS WHOLE PLACE 4 TIMES. I. GIVE. UP." Young Scott yelled from somewhere. At that, a door of one of the cupboards above the counter opened up. A little Stiles wormed his way out of the cupboard and carefully lowered himself onto the counter. He then jumped off and went running in the direction of Scott's voice.  


"HA! I BEAT YOU!"  


"How did he even get up there?" The Sheriff said in wonder, staring at the now empty cupboard.  


"Beats me, I couldn't even get up there to check the cupboards." Scott said with a laugh. "Ready for the next memory?"  


"Let's do it." Sheriff Stilinski said heading through the door which Stiles had scurried out of moments before.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all so much for being so crazy supportive! I love all of the votes and comments. Each one really does make my day.  
> And thank you for sticking with me even through my lack of updating. I promise that now that I am out of school for the summer I will update more frequently.  
> I love you all!


	27. Chapter 27

The next memory the Sheriff and Scott entered was dark. It took a little bit for their eyes to adjust. Scott’s eyes were better in the dark so he realized where they were first. They were standing in the upstairs hallway of the Stilinski house, right outside of Stiles’ bedroom door. The door creaked and they both jumped a little. A young Stiles came padding out yawning and rubbing his eyes. His hair was messy and he was in his pajamas. He made a beeline for the light switch, but when he got to it he froze with his hand on the switch. Scott realized immediately what had made him stop. Coming from the master bedroom down the hall was the horrific sounds of sobbing. They were the type of whole body, soul-wracking sobs that only came with great loss. Scott felt the Sheriff tense up beside him.

“This must be just after Claudia died. I didn’t want to cry in front of Stiles, so I would keep it all in until he was asleep. I cried myself to sleep for months.” The Sheriff said softly. Scott found himself at a complete loss of any words of comfort. Luckily he was saved when the Sheriff continued talking. “Stiles hated the dark after his mom died. He had a nightlight, but he also liked me to keep the hallway light on with his door cracked open. I usually would turn it off when he was asleep to save energy. He must’ve woken up and noticed it was off.” The Sheriff trailed off as young Stiles took a few steps towards his dad’s door. Scott noticed there were a few tears sliding down his cheeks, but he was crying silently. Stiles moved to open his dad’s door but changed his mind. Instead he slid down to the floor and brought his knees up to his chest. He wrapped his arms around his legs and put his head on his knees. Scott saw young Stiles’ shoulders shaking, but he still did not make any noise. The Sheriff and Scott stood and watched the heartbreaking scene for a few moments before something occurred to Scott.

“This is a bad memory.” He said a little too excitedly. The Sheriff turned to look at him like he was crazy. Scott rushed to explain himself, “The last time we went through, every memory was positive because in the false reality Stiles had built everything was perfect and had always been perfect. The fact that we are in a bad memory could mean that we got through to Stiles last time. This could be a crack in his reality.”

“You are right. This is a memory of his mom dying, do you think the fact that we are seeing it means he remembers what happened to Claudia?”

“I’m not sure, he could still be in denial. He might remember this but not know why you were crying or is not willing to admit to himself the reason why you were crying.”

“If his reality is starting to crack he is probably scared and confused.” The Sheriff said quietly and Scott realized in horror what he was saying.

“ We have to get to him before it comes crashing down. If we aren’t there to explain this to him and help bring him out of it he might end up trapped in his mind forever.” Scott didn’t add the part that the two of them might end up trapped as well. The Sheriff was smart enough to know what would happen. They had both known the risks going in and had decided that it was worth it. They were just going to have to make sure that all three of them made it out safe and sound.

*****

Malia put her cold had against Stiles’ forehead.

“He’s really hot.” She said to no one in particular.

“His pulse is elevated and he is running a fever.” Melissa responded. Malia looked up to see the worry in the woman’s face.

“That doesn’t sound good.”

“It’s not ideal. His health is slowly deteriorating. I’m not sure we are going to be able to bring him back again if he crashes.” Melissa said as she glanced over at her son and the Sheriff. Malia saw the stress on both of their faces. She just hoped they could get through to Stiles. They were his last hope.

“Scott and the Sheriff will make it, I know they will. If anyone can get through to Stiles it’s his best friend and his dad.” Malia tried to keep her voice bright. She tried not to think about the fact that she had not been able to get through to Stiles. She tried but she failed. She knew that Melissa saw right through her false positivity.

“You know I could really use to get out of this room for a bit. Would you come for a short walk with me?” Melissa said as she straightened up and pushed her hair back. Malia glanced down at hers and Stiles’ intertwined hands. The four walls of this godforsaken room did feel like they were slowly creeping in on her and she was hyper aware of the presence of each and every body in the room. But she couldn’t leave Stiles, she needed to be here if anything happened. “We’ll just walk up and down the hall, stretch our legs a bit. We won’t be more than a few steps away from Stiles.” Melissa said guessing the reason for Malia’s hesitation. Liam came over and squeezed Malia’s shoulder.

“Go on, he isn’t alone, he will have all of us. And you will be able to hear the second something happens. I know this room is driving you crazy. Take a breather.”

“Okay.” Malia whispered and gave up her chair to Liam. Melissa put her arm around Malia and guided her out of the room.

“He loves you, you know.” Melissa said once the door had shut.

“What?” Malia said, a bit taken aback.

“He loves you. You do know that right?”

“I don’t...I mean we never...he didn’t…” Malia sputtered

“Just because he didn’t say it, doesn’t make it any less true. People can be funny about saying those words. And Stiles is such a romantic I’m sure he was just waiting for the perfect moment.”

“Do you think we are right for each other?" Malia found herself blurting out her insecurities. "I mean Stiles is a dreamer and annoyingly optimistic at times and he is a romantic and incredibly clever. I have been trained my whole life to see what could go wrong in any situation and to get out before anything happened. I don’t even really know what love is much less if I’m in it.” Malia didn’t often give into feelings of self doubt. As a coyote a moment of hesitation could lead to your death, so second guessing yourself wasn’t an option. But Malia was no longer a coyote and her world was no longer as simple.

“Let me ask you something,” Melissa paused and looked at Malia. “If I told you right now that I didn’t think you were right for Stiles, would you leave him?”

“Yes” Malia didn’t need to think about it. Although it was almost physically painful to think about leaving Stiles, she knew that she would do it if it was the best thing for him.

“That’s love. Love is putting someone above yourself. Caring about their well being and happiness above all of else.”

“That’s it?” Malia was surprised at the simplicity of the concept.

“Well no, nothing is ever really that cut and dry. But that is a bit of the basics. The rest you are just going to have to figure out as you go along. But I can say one thing for sure, Stiles loves you. And if you let yourself admit it, I would say that you love him back.”

“Yeah, I guess I do.” Malia felt a smile spread across her face at the thought. She was in love with Stiles. And he loved her back. “Lydia said that we were in love. Back when she said that I was the one who should go with Scott instead of her. I didn’t devote much time to thinking about that. Then I failed at getting through to Stiles and I just…”

“Started to doubt the power of your love?”

“Started to doubt that it was love…” Malia admitted.

“Malia, the only reason that you weren’t able to get through to Stiles is because his false reality is constructed around Claudia. He is going to have to deal the the pain of losing her all over again, and for that he needs his father. The type of love that he needs to get himself out of this is a different kind of love than the type that you two share. He needs familial love right now, but that doesn’t make your love any less powerful or real.” Melissa said with a calm intensity to her voice. Malia could tell that it was important to her that she believed her.

“So you think Stiles and I are right for each other?”

“Yes, I think the fact that you two are so different is why you are so perfect for each other. You balance each other out and you encourage the other to go outside of their comfort zone. But I don’t think that you guys are as opposite as you think. You are both incredibly clever and smart. You may be playing catch up, but it doesn’t make you less intelligent. You are both painfully honest and blunt at times and you are both sarcastic. You also both care deeply about the pack and would do anything to protect innocent people. And that’s just the start.” Melissa talked quickly. When she had finished Malia thought about everything that Melissa had said. She had to admit that what she said seemed to make a lot of sense. Malia had never thought about things that way. She deeply wanted to believe what Melissa said.

“Thank you Melissa.” She said, unable to find the words to really express the gratitude she was feeling.

“Anytime, I’m a big fan of young love. I like seeing it work out.” Melissa put her arm around Malia’s shoulder again. “ Now what do you say we go check on those boys of ours?”

“Sounds good.” Malia said. She was enjoying spending one on one time with Melissa, but she needed to get back into that room. Half of her energy was devoted to worrying about what was happening while she wasn’t there.

“Let’s go.” Melissa said as she guided Malia back to Stiles’ room.

*****

“Dad I’m going to miss the bus.” A blindfolded, 16-year-old Stiles complained. A bemused Sheriff and Scott looked on at the scene before them. The Sheriff was glad that they got to relive this memory as it was one of his favorites.

“I don’t think that will be an issue.” A slightly younger Sheriff said as he guided Stiles by the shoulders, a huge grin on his face. The Sheriff felt his face break into an identical smile.

“Dad, I don’t want detention on my birthday.”

“Oh just be quiet will you. We are almost there.” The two took a couple more steps before the Sheriff stopped them and pulled off Stiles’ blindfold. The boy stood there in shock for a few moments. Staring at the light blue jeep in front of him. Then he let out a loud whoop and hurled himself at his dad, giving him a huge hug. The Sheriff’s heart hurt a bit looking at the two of them embracing. Those days had been so much simpler. They had not been aware of the numerous supernatural beings running around Beacon Hills. It had just been Stiles and him against the world.

“You got me a car? I can’t believe you got me a car! Dad, this is awesome!” Stiles detached himself from his father and ran over to the jeep. He ran his hand along the side and looked back at his dad. “Dad, this is too much.”

“Shut up and get in the car.”

“Okay.” Stiles yanked open the door and hopped inside. He sat with his hands on the wheel, bouncing up and down on the seat.

“What do you say we take this thing for a drive?”

“Yes!” Stiles practically yelled. Both versions of the Sheriff laughed at his enthusiasm. The younger Sheriff got into shotgun and with an excited yell Stiles backed up. The two sped off quickly with Stiles still shouting and the Sheriff yelling to slow down. They left a laughing Scott and Sheriff in their wake.

“That was a good day. Remember you and your mom came over for pizza and Stiles was in a super good, hyper mood and kept spastically talking about how Lydia looked at him when he blasted into the school parking lot.”

“Yeah I was with him, it was barely a glance. Probably more because of his crazy driving than anything else.” Scott said with a laugh.

“You know I’m really glad now that Stiles has so many people in his life. Now his birthdays are filled with lots of people and noise and craziness, which is great and all. But sometimes I sort of miss those dinners when it was just the four of us.” The Sheriff said nostalgically.

“Yeah I know what you mean. Life has been so crazy lately and we have so many new people in our lives. Sometimes those days seemed so simple and easy. But I like how our lives are now. Yes it may be crazy but just think about how many people are in Stiles’ hospital room right now. He has so many people that love and support him. I think that outweighs the crazy.”

“You’re right.” The Sheriff said, shaking away his sentimentality. Scott was correct, no matter how crazy it got, their lives were better now. The Sheriff couldn’t ask for a better support system than the pack. They were the only thing keeping him sane right now.

“Onto the next memory?” Scott prodded.

“Absolutely,” The Sheriff tried to sound more enthusiastic than he felt. The truth was he wasn’t sure how much longer he could take a stroll down memory lane. He wanted Stiles back in current time and seeing all of these memories was a painful reminder that if they didn’t succeed, he would never see Stiles like that again.


	28. Chapter 28

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So who's happy that Teen Wolf is finally back on? I know I am! I am about to go away for the next two weeks (to a camp without WiFi or cell reception) so it may be a little while before I am able to update again. This story still has a ways to go before it is finished. Thank you all for sticking with it so far! It makes me incredibly happy.
> 
> I look forward to reading all of your comments when I get back. 
> 
> Also fun fact, I wrote this next scene before I had watched any of the new episodes, so I wasn't copying the idea.
> 
> I love you all!

For the next memory, Scott and the Sheriff found themselves in the empty school parking lot. Stiles and Malia were sitting in his jeep in the middle of the lot.

"Easy, easy does it." Stiles said through gritted teeth and Malia launched the car into motion only to stop immediately. "Press down slowly on the gas so it doesn't lurch like that." Scott saw the intense concentration on Malia's face as she tried to slowly ease the car into motion. It rolled painstakingly forward slowly. "Okay you can give it a little more gas." Malia must've pressed a bit too hard as the car shot forward a few feet before she slammed on the breaks. Stiles put the car in park and turned to look at her.

"I'll never get this." Scott heard her say miserably.

"Hey, hey, don't say that." Stiles reached up to tuck a piece of hair behind her ear. "You said the same thing about math and looked what happened with that, you passed and are moving on next year. You have an amazing ability to pick things up quickly when you set your mind to it."

"Yeah, but this isn't math. I can't just memorize a bunch of stuff. What if I never get the hang of this? I'm going to be the only senior who can't drive."

"Alan McCormack doesn't even have his permit yet." Stiles added unhelpfully. Scott heard the Sheriff snort beside him. He turned to see the man watching his son with an amused expression.

"He can be a little bit of a punk sometimes can't he?" The Sheriff said.

"Yes he most definitely can be," agreed Scott.

"Ow" at Stiles' yell they both turned their attention back to the jeep where Malia had apparently just punched Stiles in the arm. "I'm just kidding!" He shouted holding his hands up in surrender. Malia lowered her fist and her expression changed from annoyed to sad. Stiles saw this change and leaned closer to cup her cheek. "Hey, we have a whole summer. You haven't crashed into anything which means you are already doing better than I did on my first try."

"We had to replace that mailbox about 5 times." The Sheriff muttered under his breath.

"I bet by the end of the summer you will be a better driver than me." Stiles' words did the trick and Malia's face visibly brightened. She leaned forward until her lips touched Stiles and gave him a long, slow kiss. Scott suddenly realized that he was intruding on a very private moment. This memory was between Stiles and Malia and was not meant for anyone else's eyes.

Up until this point Scott had never felt like he was invading Stiles' mind. He had been merely sifting through the memories to get to the Stiles of today and bring him back to the present. He hadn't even thought about how precious these memories were to Stiles. These were the moments when he was happiest and Scott suddenly felt like the third wheel who had just decided to invite himself along on a date. He didn't belong there, the Sheriff didn't belong there. Stiles' head was supposed to be his own. Unfortunately his friend hadn't had the best of luck on that front. First the Nogitsune, then Scott and Lydia, and now this. It had been a necessary evil for them to enter his mind then just as it was a necessary evil now. It was the only way to bring back Stiles. As soon as they did that, he could leave Stiles' head along and hopefully would never ever need to enter it uninvited again.

"How many more memories do you think we have?" The Sheriff asked. Scott could tell by the impatience and unhappiness in his voice that he had been thinking a similar thing to Scott. Malia repositioned herself so that she was straddling Stiles, never breaking the kiss. Scott looked away, feeling like a creep for being in the memory.

"Not very many, in fact this could very well be the last one. It happened just a couple months before the Omega's came to town. I guess we are just going to have to go find out."

"Oh god, yes, let's go." The Sheriff said. Scott glanced back at the jeep to see Stiles lowering his seat into the lying position.

"Which way?"

"I don't care, anywhere but here." The Sheriff said as he began walking a random direction. Scott immediately fell into step next to him and the quickly moved on.

*****

After the darkness of the last memory, Scott and the Sheriff were both blinded by the sunlight in the one they had just entered. Stiles was wrestling with what looked like it was supposed to be a tent while Kira, Lydia, Scott, Malia, Liam, and Mason looked on. Stiles tried to bend a pole back to attach it to the tent but it slipped out of his hand and sprung back into his face. He took a step back in surprise and slipped on the fabric of the tent and went sprawling. His friends all started laughing as Kira timidly stepped forward to help Stiles up.

"Are you sure you don't need any help setting up the tent?" Liam said with a smirk.

"Yes, fine, whatever." Stiles threw his hands up in defeat and stepped away from the tent.

"I thought you guys never went camping?" The Sheriff asked.

"We tried to once towards the end of the summer. After using it as an excuse for Mexico Stiles got it in his head that he wanted to go camping for real. So we got everyone together and tried to camping for a weekend."

"Tried?"

"Yeah, do you remember all of the hikers and campers that turned up dead towards the end of the summer?"

"Yeah there were four of them, you said it was a rogue omega who was scared off pretty easily when you faced him"

"We may have sugarcoated it a little bit." Scott said sheepishly. He hurried to explain when the Sheriff turned to look at him with an angry expression. "You know Stiles, he always wants to protect you and not get you involved. It was actually an alpha and her last remaining beta. The two had killed off the rest of the pack. They were in love and searching for an alpha so that the beta could kill it and become an alpha. They were killing hikers to draw out Scott."

"I thought a true Alpha's powers couldn't be stolen."

"They can't, and as soon as they figured out that Scott was a true alpha they left in a hurry, besides they knew they weren't going to be able to win the fight."

"And that happened this night?"

"Yes, the fight was a bit messy and people got hurt. But in the end we all made it out okay. The rogues were quite fierce."

"Jesus" The Sheriff rubbed his forehead and Scott once again felt horrible for lying to him. He had wanted to tell the Sheriff the truth, but Stiles had blurted out the omega lie before he could. Afterwards Stiles had begged them all not to say anything. He was afraid his father might not let it go and if he continued to investigate he would be made a target.

Scott turned his attention back to the memory. The tent was now set up, someone had started a fire, and they were all lounging around it.

"This isn't right." He said softly

"What?"

"This isn't how it went. Mason set up the fire, but he never managed to light it. We heard howling and then the Alpha and Beta attacked."

"So the memory has changed somehow?"

"Before when we went through his memories they were all positive, but none were changed, the negative memories were simply missing. Now Stiles is somehow changing a negative memory to a positive one."

"That's really not good. His need to stay in his fantasy is so strong that he is changing his own memories."

"We have to get to him fast. Let's hope this is the last memory." Scott started to move, but he had only taken one step when suddenly the scene before them changed. There was a flash and then suddenly the people below were engaged in a full on fight with the two werewolves. Kira and Liam were on the Beta while Scott and Malia took on the Alpha. Lydia, Stiles, and Mason were staying out of the way. Stiles was slightly in front of the other two with his bat in his hand.

"What the hell." The Sheriff exclaimed.

"I have no idea..." Scott started. But as quickly as it had came, the fight suddenly flashed away and was replaced by the previously altered memory of all of the friends around the fire laughing at something hysterical. "This is bad, this is really bad. We need to move now." Scott grabbed the Sheriff's arm and ran quickly into the woods away from the eerie sound of the laughter that had never happened.

*****

"Here" Derek looked up as the man with the glasses named Kyle handed him a cup of coffee. Derek was sitting outside in the hallway, he had been unable to stand another second of just standing around in that room. The room reeked of anxiety and fear and sadness. It left a bitter taste on his tongue.

"Thank you" Derek accepted the cup and Kyle sank into the seat next to him. Derek had to admit that he had taken a liking to the man. He was more the strong and silent type, which Derek appreciated. Kyle didn't feel a need to fill silences with useless babble. When he had explained to them what had happened to Stiles, he had kept his story short and succinct. He told them how brutal this family of hunters was and how they were obsessed with wiping out every supernatural creature they came across. They tortured Stiles for information, but Kyle has also guessed that they tortured him because they considered him a traitor to the human race and wanted to make him pay. "Can I ask you something?" Derek found himself breaking the silence he usually treasured.

"Of course."

"You said that you had been looking for a way out for a while now, but how did you get mixed up in all of this in the first place?"

"My wife."

"Oh I didn't know you were married." Derek said as he just now noticed the ring on Kyle's finger. Normally something like that wouldn't escape his notice, but he'd been a little preoccupied recently.

"I used to be. She died a few years ago. The hunters were her family. I didn't know about all of that when I married her. She was such a kind and giving person. She was also a doctor, that's how we met. She worked in the pediatric department of the hospital and she was wonderful with those kids."

"But she was a hunter?" Derek questioned

"Not exactly. She knew what her family was, but she didn't exactly approve of their intensity or methods. She would've preferred the Argent family's motto of 'we hunt those who hunt us'. But her mother was the grand matriarch so my Angela didn't have much say so she couldn't stop them. She refused to participate in hunts but would always be there to patch them up when they got back. Because at the end of the day they were her family and she didn't want anything to happen to them."

"When did you find out about all of this?"

"After a year of marriage. I asked her supervisor to give her the night off of our first anniversary. Her boss assured me that she would give it off and that Angela would be the last person they would call for help. So I planned this big fancy night and waited for her to get home."

"I'm guessing she never showed."

"Nope, I got a text profusely apologizing but saying that there was an emergency at work. I believed her and the next day I said something to her supervisor who told me that she hadn't called Angela in."

"What did you do?"

"I should've just confronted her about it, but I was convinced she was cheating on me so I looked up her schedule and decided to follow her next time she said she was working when she wasn't."

"I'm sure that went over well."

"One of her brothers nearly killed me. But Angela told them who I was and they spared me. They weren't happy about me knowing and told me to keep my mouth shut about what I had seen. Of course at this point I wasn't exactly sure what it was that I had seen. I went home and started packing a suitcase. I wanted to leave before Angela got back, I was just so freaked out. She had left shortly after me however and arrived home before I could leave. She explained to me what it was that her family actually did and her role in all of it. She painted the picture of a heroic family of hunters who save the world from vicious beasts."

"And you believed her?" Derek knew how hard it was for someone to wrap their mind around the supernatural. He normally could just flash his eyes and claws and that was convincing enough, but he couldn't imagine Kyle having to believe all of that without any evidence.

"Not exactly. I convinced her to allow me to come along with her next time her family went out on a hunt. She agreed only because she knew her family wanted to vet me a little bit more."

"So you went with them?"

"Yes and I watched in horror as they cut a beta in half. The beta had killed someone, but it still was all too gruesome to me. So I told Angela that I would respect her decision to continue but I did not want to be a part of it."

"So what happened to her?" Derek asked, hoping that he wasn't overstepping. Kyle so far had been incredibly accommodating and forthcoming with information. He had patiently told them his story and waited for them to trust him. Of course they would never fully trust him until Stiles woke up and confirmed his story, but Derek believed him.

"Hunt gone wrong. They miscalculated the number in a pack. One escaped during the fight and followed them home afterwords. He injured several people and killed two, Angela and her Uncle."

"I'm sorry to hear that." Derek knew what it was like to lose a loved one, after all he'd lost his entire family in one night alone.

"It was a hard time. I wanted nothing more than to separate myself completely from my wife's family and the lifestyle that had killed her. Unfortunately, my in-laws had a different idea."

"They recruited you to replace her." Derek guessed, finally putting the dots together

"Yeah, it was sort of I help them or they kill me and my entire family."

"Not a hard choice."

"I didn't really have an option, but I hated every second of it. They had been brutal and unforgiving before the incident, but afterwards they took it to a completely new level. They were obsessed. They wanted to commit speciocide, that is they wanted to wipe out every supernatural creature that dared to walk on what they thought was "their Earth". It was a horrible thing to be a part of. Sure I had been angry at first and had blamed the entire werewolf species for my wife's death, but after awhile I realized that it was her family that was to blame. I watched them attack, torture, and kill supernatural creatures that were just trying to live their lives without harming humans."

"But you couldn't leave."

"I had my two younger sisters and my father to think about. My wife's family threatened to kill them all and make me watch."

"I don't blame you for the decision you made." Derek tried to assure him. He believed Kyle's story and felt awful for what he had been through. "I would understand if you wanted to totally get away from this life, but..." He hesitated

"What?"

"Well if you wanted to maybe give back to the other side of the fight you could shadow our apothecary Deaton. He is sort of our pack's healer. I'm sure he would be willing to show you a few tricks of the trade."

"I think about it." Kyle said and Derek could tell that he would give it some serious thought. Derek opened his mouth to respond when suddenly the door burst open. The two men looked up in alarm at Braeden.

"You guys have to get in here, something's happening." She urged. Already on his feet, Derek rushed through the door.


	29. Chapter 29

Scott and the Sheriff found themselves in front if the Stilinski household. Scott wasn't exactly sure what he had been expecting, but it looked normal. The house was lit up and they could hear the sound of distant voices and laughter. Scott knew that this was it, inside they would find the current Stiles trapped in his fantasy. He paused before entering to clarify something with the Sheriff.

"We have to play along with the fantasy until we can get Stiles alone. If it's like last time we'll have to sit through dinner." Scott said, watching the Sheriff's expression closely. The Sheriff had a very guarded look on his face like he was feeling a variety of emotions but didn't want to show them. He was hiding them well, but Scott could smell the anxiety and fear.

"What do we do once we get him alone?"

"Talk to him, try to break him out of this false world as delicately as possible. I know he can tell that something isn't right. He is a smart and suspicious person. But his unwillingness to lose his mother again is keeping him from admitting it to himself."

"I can't say I really blame him. I just hope I am able to help him out if it."

"Me too," Scott said wincing as he was reminded yet again that this was Stiles last chance.

"Well here goes nothing," the sheriff said with a poor attempt at a smile. Scott stepped forward and pulled open the door.

"Wait, he actually asked that?" They heard Stiles say in the distance.

"Yep, he asked if Rosetta Stone was the black lady on the bus."

"Oh my god." Stiles gasped struggling for breath as he laughed.

"Yeah I honestly didn't know how to respond..." Claudia cut off when they stepped into the kitchen. "Oh honey I didn't even hear you come in." She stepped forward to kiss her husband. The Sheriff remained frozen to the spot for a moment before wrapping his arms around Claudia and kissing her back. When they broke apart Claudia turned to Scott. "Hi Scott, you staying for dinner?"

"There was a huge pileup on 115 so Melissa is going to be laid up for a while and asked if we could feed Scott." The Sheriff interjected before Scott could open his mouth. Scott raised a surprised eyebrow at the ease of which the Sheriff lied to his wife.

"Of course. We always have room at our table." Claudia said as she turned back to the stove. 

"Unfortunately, I got really good at lying to her when she got sick," The Sheriff muttered under his breath in response to Scott's eyebrow. Scott felt a pang of sadness for what the Sheriff and his best friend had gone through. 

"What caused the pileup?" Stiles asked. Scott turned to really look at his friend for the first time. He didn't like what he saw. Stiles was pale and looked like he hadn't slept in days. But the worst part was the expression on his face as he looked at Scott. It was full of anxiety, suspicion, and fear. The only other time Stiles had looked at him with fear in his eyes was back when Scott had experienced his first full moon and had snapped and thrown Stiles against the wall. When Scott had calmed down and looked back at his friend he vowed to never put that look back on his face ever again.

But now here it was and Scott knew that Stiles remembered what had happened last time Scott was In his head. Stiles knew something bad was happening to him, but he was still fighting it with everything he had.

"A drunk idiot was driving in the wrong direction." The Sheriff responded to what his son had asked. 

"Dinners ready!" Claudia announced, saving them from more questions.

"Looks delicious sweetie," the Sheriff said as Claudia placed a heaping bowl of ground beef on the table next to every taco topping imaginable.

"Dig in" she replied with a laugh. 

"Don't have to ask me twice," Stiles said, grabbing a couple of shells and spooning himself the meat. Scott and the Sheriff glanced at each other before following suit. It was a look that said 'here we go, let's get this over with'.

"You guys okay?" Stiles asked, his mouth full of food. "You seem a little tense."

"Yeah, I'm just a little overtired."

"Hard day at work." The Sheriff and Scott said at the same time. Stiles gave them a look that said he didn't believe them. Then he glanced at his mom who was happily eating her food, oblivious to the palpable tension. Scott went back to eating, hoping avoid a confrontation in front of Mrs. Stilinski. It would be a little hard to convince Stiles that his mom had died and that he was hallucinating with his mom standing as real as life in the room.

"Man, it just must be one of those days. You'll never believe what this kid did today..." Claudia started talking, still unaware of what was really happening.

Scott dropped the taco he was about to eat when the room suddenly got dark and started to shake. It was like what had happened last time before Stiles had thrown them out of his head. But this time Stiles wasn't yelling or angry. This time he was staring at the wall with a faraway expression on his face. His hands were in fists on the table and Scott could smell blood from his fingernails biting into his palms.

"Stiles!" Scott yelled, putting a hand on his friend's shoulder, but the room kept shaking and Stiles didn't seem to be able to hear him. Scott looked at the sheriff and found that he was looking at his wife instead of his son. Scott glanced a Claudia. She had a blank expression on her face and it seemed like she was disappearing. She was getting more and more translucent.

"What is happening?" The Sheriff yelled

"I don't know, but we have to stop it! He has to make the active choice to step out of his fantasy. If we lose him now he might be trapped in his mind forever." Scott shouted back.

"How do we snap him out of it?"

"I don't know" Scott tried to think, but he was panicking too much. He felt blood dripping down his nose and knew that they didn't have much time. If he didn't so something soon Stiles, the Sheriff, and himself were all in serious danger. They could all end up trapped inside Stiles' mind forever. "Stiles, Stiles, please!" He begged, shaking his friend, but he got no response. Scott's mind just wasn't working, he couldn't think straight. Everyone was counting on him and he was failing. Just when all hope seemed lost a sound reached Scott's ears, a sound he would know anytime, anywhere. It was the sound of his beta howling.

*****

Liam was momentarily distracted from his own anxiety by the look on Malia's face. She was standing next to Stiles' bed, one hand grasping his and the other lightly stroking his hair. The expression on her face was heartbreaking. It was filled with tenderness and love, but it was also clouded with sadness and pain. A single, but significant tear slipped down her cheek. Malia experienced emotions in extremes, but she typically didn't show the emotions that might make her seem weak. She preferred anger to sadness and sarcasm to compliments. She was similar to Liam in that way. So the fact that she was allowing herself to cry in front of the entire pack spoke volumes.

Malia leaned down and kissed Stiles' forehead and she whispered something that Liam instinctively tuned into before he realized it was an invasion of privacy.

"Stay with me, please Stiles." Malia whispered. Liam looked down at the floor, suddenly unable to bear the sight of the two of them together like that. Unable to deal with the fear in Malia's eyes as she looked down at Stiles' pale form. Liam's breath hitched as his thoughts went to dark, pessimistic places.

Liam felt Olivia's hand close around the fist he hadn't realized had formed. She gently uncurled his fingers and intertwined their hands. Liam glanced at her to see her looking back up at him, her eyes so full of compassion that almost made Liam shed tears of his own. He was so lucky to have Olivia, she was a ray of sunshine in these dark times. She was someone who managed to keep smiling through everything she'd been through and she made Liam want to do the same. She managed to stay optimistic, happy, and hopeful even though life had not been very kind to her. She made Liam want to a better and kinder person. Liam squeezed Olivia's hand and was rewarded by a stunning smile.

Suddenly a gasp echoed through the room. Liam looked up immediately at Stiles who was convulsing in his bed. His hands formed fists and Liam could see blood dripping from where his fingernails dug in. His arm swung out and caught a surprised Malia in the face, knocking her over. Liam ran over to the bed, pulling Olivia with him.

"Try to hold him down!" He yelled at Olivia. Malia stood up and wiped the blood from her mouth. She rushed over and grabbed onto Stiles' arm and pinned it to his side. "Or at least keep him from throwing himself off the bed." Liam pressed down on Stiles' shoulders. Stiles kept shaking, but he was not stronger than three werewolves, especially in his weakened state, so they were able to keep it under control. Out of the corner of his eye, Liam saw Braeden run to the door and shout something out of it. A few seconds later, Derek and Kyle came rushing in.

"Oh my god..." Derek breathed. To Liam's surprise, he rushed over to Scott and The Sheriff instead of Stiles. That was when Liam noticed that both men looked pale and had blood dripping from their noses, their expressions were drawn and pained as if they were experiencing something awful.

"He's trying to push them out again, isn't he?" Braeden asked.

"It looks that way. We need Scott and the Sheriff to focus and give all they've got to help steady Stiles." Deaton cut in, stepping forward. Derek grabbed Scott's face in his hands and shouted,

"Scott! Scott!"

"Here let me try," Liam said and he switched spots with Derek. "He's my Alpha and I'm his Beta, I might be able to get through to him." He said remembering all of the times when Scott had responded to his call. Being a bitten beta of Scott's gave them a unique bond.

"That might just work," Deaton said as he stepped back and covered his ears. The other's glanced between Deaton and Liam in confusion, still unsure as to what the plan was, but they followed suit in covering their ears. Liam moved so he was right in front of Scott, he took a deep breath, and howled as loudly as possible.

*****

The sound of Liam's howl broke him out of his blind panic.

"That's it!" He shouted, mentally kicking himself for not seeing it before. It was the same way he had managed to reach Stiles when the nogitsune had taken over his mind. Not wasting another second, Scott began to howl.

For a few terrifying seconds nothing happened, then Stiles turned to look at Scott with terror in his eyes. Slowly the room stopped shaking, the light came back up, and Claudia fazed back into view. Stiles took a shaky breath and unclenched his hands, staring at the half moon shaped cuts on his palm.

"I turned around and this kid was drinking out of my water bottle. He had taken it off my desk and just started drinking out of it. Can you believe it?" Claudia Stilinski continued talking as if nothing had happened. Stiles' head snapped up and he looked at his mom in confusion.

"Didn't you just see that?" He asked in disbelief

"See what honey?" Mrs. Stilinski said with a nervous laugh. Stiles looked at Scott with a clarity in his eyes that Scott had not seen in a while.

"Stiles I think we need to talk." Scott whispered. Stiles shook his head and pushed away his plate.

"Mom, I'm sorry but I'm really not that hungry. I think I'll just go up to my room and sleep for a bit." And without a second glance at any of them, Stiles raced up the stairs. Scott and the Sheriff both stood up. Scott pulled the Sheriff aside and whispered,

"We need to go talk to him. After what just happened I know that he knows something is wrong with his mom. We have to straighten it all out before he has a breakdown like that again."

"Yes I know, you go up and talk to him. I'm just going to help Claudia clean up the kitchen and then I'll be right behind you."

"Sheriff..." Scott started to object.

"Scott, please. I know this isn't real, I just need to spend a little more time with her. I'm not going to be able to see her like this ever again." The Sheriff pleaded in a desperate tone. Scott knew arguing would do no good.

"Okay fine, but please hurry. I need you there to talk to him." Scott reminded.

"I know, it won't be long. I'm not going to risk my son's life over talking to a ghost of who my wife was." the Sheriff said seriously and Scott believed him. With a nod he headed upstairs.

*****

The room stilled as quickly as it had burst into motion. Liam's howl faded away leaving silence in its wake. Stiles had stopped thrashing and Malia, Derek, and Olivia let go of him and backed away slowly. Scott and the Sheriff had stopped bleeding and their expressions had returned to neutral. No one knew exactly what had just happened but they knew one thing for sure. They had just stopped something truly horrible from happening.


	30. Chapter 30

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am so sorry for not updating! I hope you guys are still with me and can forgive me. I promise that I will never give up on this story, I WILL FINISH IT! I just was dealing with the start of the school year and a new job and all of that good stuff. I will do my very best to update on a more regular basis, please be patient with me and don't give up on me or this story!
> 
> I love you all and your votes and comments make my day! Happy Reading!

"Scott, what is happening?" Stiles sat shakily on his bed. He was terrified, he had no idea what was going on, but he knew something was wrong with him. He had a vague sense of Deja vu, but he had no idea where it was coming from. "Scott?" He prodded when his friend said nothing. Scott was standing in the doorway, he took a long look back where they had left his mom and dad and before he stepped into the room.

"You're the one who usually figures this stuff out. Your guess is as good as mine. What do you think is happening?" Scott asked, sitting down on the bed next to him. Scott had asked his advice on solving problems many times before, but this time seemed different. It seemed like Scott knew more than he was letting on. This felt more like a test to see how much Stiles knew. Stiles didn't need to have werewolf smell to know that Scott was anxious and scared. Every time Scott met Stiles' eyes there was fear and a look that bordered on panic.

"I don't know...I'm scared Scott". Stiles didn't know why his friend wasn't telling him what he knew, but he trusted Scott and knew his friend had to have a good reason. Plus talking out loud always helped Stiles' thought process. "Everything suddenly seems so wrong. And I keep getting these nightmares and visions of horrible things happening to me. And they feel like a memory, only they never really happened."

"What do you mean they feel like a memory?"

"They just...they feel familiar. Almost like muscle memory, like my body remembers it happening even though my brain doesn't. I don't know it's hard to describe..." stiles cut off, unable to put the feeling into words.

"No, that makes sense." Scott assured him. He studied Stiles in a way that made Stiles wholly self conscious. He wondered if the stress and exhaustion he was feeling showed on his face.

"Scott, I know that you know something." He finally blurted, unable to stand it anymore.

"What?" Scott looked taken aback.

"I know that you know more about what's going on than you are letting on. I'm your best friend Scott, I know you. And something's wrong. Please if you know what's wrong with me just tell me." Stiles felt panic rising within him again. He closed his eyes and put his face in his hands, hoping to block everything out and calm himself down. He felt a pressure behind his eyes but refused to cry. Stiles jumped when he felt a hand on his shoulder, but when his best friend's arm went around him he leaned into the embrace.

"Shhh Stiles" Scott whispered. Stiles hadn't even realized that he had let the tears fall. He turned and wrapped both his arms around Scott, who hugged him firmly back. Stiles leaned into Scott's shoulder and allowed himself a few seconds of vulnerability "It's going to be okay." Scott said after a few moments.

"H-how do you know?" Stiles sniffled.

"You trust me right?" Scott asked softly. Stiles pulled back. He looked into the eyes of the person who had been his best friend for most of his life. The person who had saved him time and time again. The person who saved everyone time AND time again. Stiles knew that he would always trust that Scott had his best interest in mind.

"Yes, I trust you." Stiles finally said

"Okay...I need to tell you something, and I need you to hear me out. And I need you to use that big brain of yours to objectively think about what I'm saying." Stiles stomach dropped at Scott's words. Whatever Scott had to say it was going to be bad.

"W-what's going on?" Stiles asked finally, not really sure he wanted to know anymore.

"It's about your mother." His father said from the doorway.

*****

"I know, it won't be long. I'm not going to risk my son's life over talking to a ghost of who my wife was." the Sheriff tried to reassure Scott. All he wanted was a few more moments with his long dead wife. Not even in his wildest fantasies would he have thought he would get the chance to have a face to face conversation with Claudia again.

"Okay," Scott nodded and headed upstairs. The Sheriff took a deep breath and walked back into the kitchen. Claudia was humming a pleasant tune as she washed the dishes. The Sheriff stepped forward to dry and put away, just like he always used to.

"So how was your day dear?" Claudia asked nonchalantly, but the innocent question almost brought tears to his eyes. He had forgotten how much he missed the little things, like Claudia's cooking or talking about their days.

"It was rough..." He started. Claudia shut off the water and turned to look at him.

"Oh honey, what happened?" She grabbed a towel and started drying off her hands.

"There is just something really bad happening to someone that I care a lot about. And I'm trying to fix it, but I am terrified. Because if I can't fix it, then we are all out of options and this person will keep on suffering." The Sheriff kept it as vague as possible. Claudia reached up and stroked his cheek, her hand was warm and still slightly damp. He couldn't help but close his eyes and lean into her hand.

"My darling, I have the utmost confidence in you. You are a great Sheriff and a great man. I know that you will do all that's in your power to stop this person from hurting. You care so much about protecting people, that is one of the many reasons why I love you."

"What if everything in my power doesn't work, what if my best isn't good enough, what if I fail?" The Sheriff finally voiced his inner fears.

"Your best is good enough, just don't give up, don't lose hope. There is always something more to do or new to try. If it's not working just try a different strategy." At her words a thought occurred to the Sheriff. He did just need to think about the situation in a different way. A plan slowly started to form in his mind.

"You always were so wise. That is one thing I never forgot, through everything that happened, I always remembered how wise you were." The Sheriff thought out loud. He remembered all of the bad days. The ones where Claudia's paranoia had gotten the best of her. The Sheriff had held onto the memory of his wise, kind, thoughtful wife to keep himself sane.

"You aren't making any sense..." Claudia said as she stepped closer to him. "Why are you speaking in the past tense?" She put her arms around his waist and leaned her body into his. "I'm right here."

"I know you are sweetie." The Sheriff said and before he really registered what was happening his lips were on hers. She kissed him back intensely, but it wasn't right. The Sheriff would never forget the way his wife's lips had felt against his, the way her body fit against his, the way they were perfectly in tune with each other. This kiss felt wrong, it was like kissing a stranger. After all, she was just a shadow of his wife recreated by his son. She could only truly possess the things that Stiles knew about and remembered. The Sheriff pulled away, he had let himself forget that for a second. He had done the exact thing Scott and everyone had warned him about, he had let himself get caught up in this fantasy and had momentarily forgotten reality.

Reality is that his son was lying in a hospital bed dying and the only way to save him is to find a way to shake him out of the same fantasy that the Sheriff had just gotten swept up in. The Sheriff slowly drew himself out of Claudia's embrace and stepped away.

"I love you." He said, just wanting to say the words one last time.

"I love you too." She replied immediately, and even though he knew it wasn't real, those words meant everything to him.

*****

Scott barely held back his sigh of relief when the Sheriff appeared in the doorway. He had been running out of ways to stall Stiles from having another nervous breakdown. Stiles knew something was wrong and that Scott was keeping it from him. Scott knew that Stiles needed know the truth, but he needed the Sheriff there when he found out.

"What about mom?" Stiles asked looking between Scott and his father in confusion.

"Have you noticed anything strange about her recently?" The Sheriff asked.

"What? No, she's fine, she's just mom." Stiles rushed to a denial. Scott saw what the Sheriff was trying to do. He was trying the same thing that Scott had been trying, he was trying to get Stiles to figure it out on his own. That way the shock of reality wouldn't be as great.

"Stiles..." The Sheriff said taking a step towards his son. "You know she isn't fine. You know that something is wrong." Scott felt Stiles shift away from him. It wasn't by much and the move may have been unconscious, but Scott knew that Stiles was thinking about the last time he and Scott were in his room and talking about things being wrong.

"No, I don't know that. Everything is perfect, why are you saying these things?" Stiles said, his voice pitching towards panicked.

"Come on Stiles," Scott threw his hands up, "you are the most suspicious person I know. You don't take anything at face value and the thing you trust most in this world is the feeling you get when you know something isn't right. And you are always right Stiles. I know that you have that feeling right now, I need you to trust it." Stiles looked between Scott and his dad, not saying anything. His face was closed off and Scott could read no emotion.

"I know why you don't want to trust it." The Sheriff stepped closer to his son, but Stiles flinched back. The Sheriff put his hands up in a gesture of peace and stayed where he was. "You are afraid of losing your mother, I'm afraid of losing her too, but something is wrong with her son. We need to know what you have noticed so we can figure out what is happening." Scott was surprised at the Sheriff's lie, he hoped that he face didn't register it. He saw the cleverness of it of course, get Stiles to think they were helping his mom and maybe he would let his guard down. Scott was just afraid that Stiles was never going to come to the right conclusion. He would deny the truth to the end of his days if it meant getting to spend them with his mom.

"She didn't notice what happened down in the kitchen. That's happened a few times, each time when it's over she acts completely normal. I thought maybe it was because I was imagining it all, but then you guys felt it too."

"Yes we did, what do you think happened down there?"

"I don't know, I think....I think..." Stiles' voice shook and he trailed off.

"What is it Stiles?"

"I think I might be causing it, but I don't know how. When I get upset or confused it happens, and I have these false memories in my head, and I just don't know what is happening." Stiles said, looking more defeated than Scott had ever seen him. The Sheriff and Scott exchanged a look, knowing that it was now or never.

"Stiles...we know what's going on." Scott said tentatively

"I knew it" Stiles said, with none of the bravado that normally accompanied those words when he spoke them.

"Stiles you are causing what is happening."

"But how? Do I have another supernatural being controlling me?" Stiles eyes went wide in horror at the thought. Although it freaked Stiles out, Scott saw it as a good sign that his friend now remembered being possessed by the nogitsune. It meant that his bad memories were starting to surface, and as horrible as those memories are, they are a part of Stiles.

"No, no, don't worry, you are 100 percent human" Scott assured his friend.

"Stiles, do you remember how Scott and Lydia went inside of your mind when you were trapped by the nogitsune?" The Sheriff asked, when Stiles nodded he continued, "that is what is happening right now, except you are being trapped by your own mind."

"So you mean to tell me this is all happening inside of my mind right now? Stiles got up and started to pace.

"Yes and everything that has happened recently with your mom has been inside your mind."

"What do you mean?" Stiles stopped pacing to stare at his dad. Scott steeled himself for the worst.

"Stiles when you were younger your mom got sick. She was very sick for a while, and eventually she-"

"No" The Sheriff was cut off by Stiles. "No, that's not true. Mom is right downstairs, nothing has happened to her."

"Stiles, that is just a ghost of your mom that your mind created. Holding on to her is what has kept you trapped inside of your own mind. You have created your own perfect world. You have blocked out all of the bad things that have happened to you. Those false memories aren't false at all, they are just your mind starting to remember the bad things that have happened to you."

"No, no, no, no, no." Stiles began pacing manically.

"That's why she starts to fade away when things like what happened in the kitchen happen. You start remembering your real life and your hold on this false reality slips." Scott said as gently as possible. Stiles was growing more frantic, but he was listening, so far it was going better than last time.

"But mom..."

"I know it's hard buddy, but your mom is gone, at least physically. But you and I carry her with us wherever we go." Stiles had tears streaming down his face, although Scott wasn't sure if he knew they were there.

"No, NO!" Stiles fell back against the wall as if he could physically get away from what they were saying. For a moment Scott and The Sheriff didn't say anything more, just let Stiles process the information. Scott was relieved that this time he was actually thinking about it, not just freaking out. He just needed the more gentle, understanding touch of his father.

"Do you remember the way your mother's smile used to light up the room? Or the way her beautiful laughter never failed to bring us joy? That woman down there is a pretty good version of your mother, but she doesn't quite have her essence. She is missing that little spark that made her unique. And I think you know that, even if you don't want to admit. I know it is hard, you feel like you are losing her all over again. But Stiles we have to hold onto our precious memories and remain true to her, these false memories are not the way we should honor her memory." The Sheriff finished speaking and Scott looked at him in surprise. He had never heard the Sheriff talk so much, let alone with so much passion. Scott could tell how much he loved his wife in every word that he spoke.

"Dad..." Stiles' voice broke, in one second the Sheriff crossed the room and pulled Stiles into his arms. Stiles' shoulders heaved as he buried his face into his dad's shoulder. Scott felt a wide range of emotions at the scene. He was glad that they seemed to be getting through to Stiles, but there was a coldness in the pit of his stomach knowing that they had to cause his friend so much pain to do it.

"Stiles, it's going to be okay. We got through this once, I know we can do it again. Shh Stiles." The Sheriff said softly as he stroked his son's hair. After a little while Stiles seemed to calm down, but his arms still remained locked around his father.

"Dad, what do I do?" His words came out weak and muffled, but Scott and the Sheriff both heard them perfectly. The Sheriff slowly drew out of Stiles' arms so he could look at his face.

"You have to let go son. You have to let go of your mother and of this false life you have created. And I know this will probably be the hardest thing you have ever done, but you need to come back to reality. No matter how painful it is." The Sheriff said slowly, looking to Scott for reassurance. Scott nodded at his words,

"Your body is collapsing without your mind, Stiles. You keep...well you just have to come back soon. Stiles you need to fight. That is one thing I have always admired about you, your fight and your perseverance. You keep going, keep searching for the solution no matter what. Countless times you have saved us by coming up with something brilliant when we thought nothing could be done. I need you to do that again. I can't tell you exactly how to bring yourself back into reality, but I know that you can figure it out. Please Stiles, I need you to try." Stiles had been staring at him while he talked. Scott felt a tear slip down his cheek and his last sentence sounded like a desperate plea. When he finished speaking Stiles crossed the room in a few long strides and pulled Scott into a hug. Scott was surprised, but he returned the gesture immediately, hugging his best friend tightly back.

All too soon, Stiles stepped away. Scott had no idea when or if he was going to be able to hug Stiles like that again. Stiles gave him a grin that was a little too wide to be real.

"I'll catch you guys on the flipside then." He said, attempting lightheartedness, but all of them knew it wasn't real. Scott nodded and the Sheriff went in for one last hug.

"I'll see you soon." The Sheriff said firmly

"Good luck" Scott said. From here on out it was 100 percent up to Stiles, there was nothing else anyone could do for him. He was going to need all the luck he could get. Scott signaled to the Sheriff that they should exit out of Stiles' bedroom door. The Sheriff took a deep breath and went out, tears flowing freely from his eyes. With one last glance at Stiles, Scott turned and followed him. He knew the image of Stiles standing there alone, looking like hell, but also determined, would be burned in his mind forever.

*****

"Malia, give me your books!" Stiles practically yelled at her. They had been arguing almost the whole way to class. Malia simply didn't understand why he wanted to carry her books. She was plenty strong enough, in fact she was stronger than he was. If anything she should carry his books. Although when she had suggested that, Stiles had seemed less than pleased.

"No, first you need to tell me why." She said with a firm shake of her head. Stiles gave her his wide-eyed exasperated look as he sighed.

"Because it is the gentlemanly thing to do, and it's supposed to be romantic."

"Romantic? How is you struggling to carry a bunch of books while I breeze by not carrying anything romantic?"

"I don't know, it's just something that's been done for ages, it's something that girls are supposed to fantasize about before they get into their first relationship."

"Not all girls." Malia said quietly. Stiles was normally so sensitive about her untraditional upbringing, but sometimes his romantic side got away from him. She knew that their roles were a bit reversed in the fact that he was the one that had fantasized about having a girlfriend. Specifically he had fantasized about Lydia, back when she had played dumb and been all fragile and girly and would have insisted that her boyfriend carry her books. Malia was never going to be anything like that.

"Here." Stiles said suddenly, pulling her out of her thoughts. She stared at him in surprise as he handed his books over and added them to the pile in her arms. He smiled a bit sheepishly when he saw the way she was looking at him. "Look, I'm sorry. I know you didn't get a lot of time to be a traditional girl and are still getting use to being a teenager. Part of the reason why I like you is because of how different you are. I never want to make you feel like you have to conform or change to make me or anyone else happy." He now gave her a full fledged grin. "And please continue to call me out when I try, sometimes I just get caught up in my own head and say stupid things." Malia shifted the books into one arm and reached out to touch the smile line next to his mouth, then she leaned forward to kiss his forehead.

"I know you get caught up in that big brain of yours, it's one of the reasons why I like you so much." At her words, Stiles' smile widened and he put his hand over hers on his cheek. Then he intertwined their fingers and she walked him to his class.

Malia felt tears spring into her eyes at the memory. She had meant what she had said about loving the way that Stiles could get caught up in his own head. She loved watching him as he worked through problems, seeing the concentration on his face and sensing the intensity of his focus. She loved how sometimes something said in passing could spark an idea, and you could see the moment when he stopped listening and withdrew into his head to figure it all out.

This however, was different. Stiles wasn't just caught up inside his own head, he was trapped. Every other time Stiles had eventually brought himself back to the present, back to her. All Malia could do was hope that he would find a way to come back to her this time too. She found her gazed locked on Stiles' face, hoping that any second those brown eyes would open and find hers.

Malia looked up when the atmosphere of the room suddenly changed. She saw Scott and the Sheriff moving. Scott withdrew his claws and the Sheriff rubbed the back of his neck. They both looked like they had been through something incredibly traumatic, but they hadn't been thrown to the floor and Malia considered that a good sign.

Nobody talked, nobody moved, nobody breathed. Everyone just waited for one of them to say something. Finally, Scott looked around at everyone in the room. Malia saw hope in his expression and her heart soared, but she tried not to get too excited until she heard what Scott had to say.

"I think....I think we may have been able to reach him this time. Sheriff Stilinski did most of it really. It was really hard, but Stiles knew that something wasn't right, we just had to get him to admit it. He, uh, he looked pretty determined when we left him. I believe in him, I think he will be able to find his way out. I wish we could have helped him more, shown him the way, but he is the only one who can get himself out of this." Scott spoke slowly, taking long pauses that grated on Malia's already shot nerves, but she remained silent because she could tell that both men were in a state of shock. She knew firsthand how agonizing that experience could be, and she had to imagine with Stiles body devolving his mind had to be also. Scott and the Sheriff's experience was probably infinitely worse.

"You did well, both of you. We have done all we can. All we can do now is trust that young Stilinski still has the strength to pull himself out." Deaton broke the silence that had formed after Scott's words. His grim, yet oddly hopeful assessment seemed to yank people out of their thoughts and send them into action. Melissa went over and gave her son a long hug before kneeling next to the Sheriff and wrapping her arms around him. He buried his face into her neck and started sobbing. Isaac then pulled Scott into a tight hug. Both boys had their eyes squeezed shut in the way that you do when you are trying to avoid crying.

Everyone else gathered in a close circle around Stiles, they were soon joined by Isaac, Scott, Melissa, and the Sheriff. Everyone was connected in one way or another, holding hands, leaning against each other, linked arms, and more. Everyone found some way of being connected with the people next to them. Malia was slightly surprised to see that even Kyle had his hand on Derek's shoulder.

Malia had no idea how long they all stayed like that, silently sending Stiles all the strength that they had. Malia had almost given up hope when suddenly Stiles' hand tightened in hers. She jumped in surprise and everyone moved anxiously around her. She looked at Stiles' face, half expecting to see his eyes open, instead her stomach dropped when his face twisted into a look of intense pain. Stiles had her hand in a vise like grip, she was surprised he had strength like that left in his body.

"What's wrong?" Melissa asked frantically, her eyes glued to Stiles' face.

"Nothing, he's fighting his way out. Believe it or not this is a good sign." Deaton said. Malia couldn't help but wince when Stiles' hand tightened and his face contorted. She hated seeing him in so much pain, yet she couldn't take it away because it was mostly mental.

"Come on Stiles, I know you are strong enough to do this. Fight Stiles, fight your way back to us." Malia said, hoping that somehow Stiles would be able to hear her.


	31. Chapter 31

Stiles met Scott’s eyes as he turned around one last time before he left. Stiles tried as hard as possible to look confident, but as soon as his friend had disappeared he deflated. He fell against the wall and slid down it to the floor. He had known that something was seriously wrong, but he never imagined it would be something like this.

Stiles pinched his arm as hard as he could. It hurt, it felt like real pain, but he knew it wasn’t real. All pain signals came from your brain anyways, so right now he was in his brain telling himself to feel pain in his arm. Stiles buried his head in his hands, it was all just too much.

He remembered the last time he hadn't know whether or not things were real. When he, Scott, and Allison had opened up the door in their minds. Stiles had never known if he was awake or sleeping. Finding out that what he thought was reality was really just a fantasy in his mind was like thinking he was awake only to wake up from the nightmare screaming. It felt like the lurch you felt when you skipped a step, only the feeling didn't fade away. It stayed in your stomach, gnawing and growing until the feeling paralyzed you with fear and confusion.

Stiles lay curled up on the floor for a while, he lacked the strength and courage to get up. He knew what he had to do. He had known before Scott and his dad had finished talking. But knowing didn’t make it any easier. It was still going to be the hardest thing he had ever done.

Lying still with his eyes closed, Stiles began to notice a strange feeling in his hand. He curled his fingers slightly and sat up in surprise, gaping at his hand. He could have sworn that it had felt like someone was holding his hand. It had only been for a split second, but he recognized the feel of those long, soft, cool fingers linked with his.

“Malia?” Her name slipped from his lips before he mind caught up. She was obviously holding his hand back in the real world, that meant that she probably couldn’t hear him. Stiles flexed his fingers again, but the feeling was gone. He stared at his empty hand and felt more alone than he ever had before. “Malia, if you can hear me, I’m going to get out. I will find my way back to you, back to my dad and Scott, back to everyone.” Stiles got up, he swayed slightly on his feet, but he stood tall. “I just have to go say goodbye to my mom for the second time.” Stiles tried not to think about it too much as he walked towards the door, because the thought of what he was about to do threatened to send him running in the opposite direction.

*****

Derek sighed in frustration, and not for the first time. Braeden reached down and grabbed his hand, squeezing hard. He saw Deaton give him a slightly annoyed look.

“We need to remain p-” Deaton started but Derek angrily cut him off.

“If you say patient I swear I will throw something out of the window. It’s been over an hour and he still hasn’t woken up yet, why hasn’t he woken up?” Derek knew that he should remain calm and optimistic for the sake of the Pack. Even though he wasn’t the alpha anymore he was still a veteran werewolf whom they looked upon for advice and support. So him freaking out would only rile them all up more than they already were. But Derek couldn’t keep his cool, not this time, not with Stiles lying pale and broken in a hospital bed fighting for his life. He couldn’t be patient when every passing second made Stiles’ chances of surviving this thing slimmer and slimmer.

“Melissa, how are Stiles’ vitals?” Deaton asked suddenly, apparently switching tactics.

“His heart rate is a bit high, but other than that everything looks stable.” At her words Deaton gave him a satisfied smile which Derek returned with a glare.

“So?” Isaac asked, not understanding the significance of this.

“It means that Stiles is stable, so whatever is going on inside that mind of his, he isn’t losing the fight.” Scott offered.

“Okay, but is he winning?” Liam asked, his hand holding Olivia’s so tight it looked painful. Derek glanced down at his hand, still linked with Braeden. He grimaced as he remember how he had squeezed her hands in those first moments after Scott and The Sheriff had come out. She hadn’t complained, but she would probably have bruises the next day. Braeden was tough, but she didn’t have super strength or super healing like Olivia. Liam could hold her hand as tightly as he was and not be so afraid of damaging her.

“He hasn’t crashed or come close to crashing in the time since Scott and the Sheriff left.” Melissa answered Liam’s question, “I’d call that winning, or at the very least he is doing better than he was.”

“We just have to give him time. He will win, I know he will. He will come back to us, he has to, he promised that he would always stay with me.” Malia’s voice was steady, but it lacked any of it’s usually bravado. She hadn’t taken her eyes off of Stiles since the two men had come out of his mind. Derek wasn’t even sure if she had blinked.

“And Stiles makes good on his promises” Lydia said, putting her hand on the girl’s shoulder.

“Okay, I know we are in uncharted waters here, but how long do you think this might take?” Kyle spoke up, directing his question at Deaton. It gave Derek a small rush of hope, he hoped that Kyle took his advice to stick around and work with Deaton. Derek liked Kyle and this pack could use another healer.

“You’re right about the uncharted waters. Honestly, your guess is as good as mine. Time might work differently in the brain. It’s possible that Stiles has only experienced a few minutes in this hour, or maybe he has experienced several hours. Scott, Sheriff, how long would you estimate you were in Stiles’ mind for?”

“It’s hard to say with going through all the memories and everything. But we were with Stiles in his fantasy for several hours.” Scott answered.

“So time is moving slower in his mind, because out here you were only gone for 45 minutes.” Deaton concluded.

“We just have to give him time.” Malia repeated.

“Yeah, because it has to be hard to pull yourself out of your mind right? We can't even imagine the challenges he is facing, but I'm sure he will beat them all.” Kira said, her voice was more hopeful than anyone else’s in the room and Derek was thankful for it.

“Great, more waiting.” Liam said. The boy seemed to have even less patience than Derek. Derek was thinking of a way to reassure the beta when Remy stepped forward.

“Come on, let’s take a walk. We won’t go far and we’ll be able to hear when something happens. I think we both could use a break from this room.” Remy put what appeared to be a encouraging hand on Liam’s shoulder. Liam however seemed less than convinced. He looked back at Olivia with a slightly nervous look. It was a look that a teenage boy would wear when meeting his girlfriend’s parents for the first time. Derek nearly laughed out loud at the normalcy of it, he saw a few others in the room crack a smile as well.

“Oh, go on” Olivia urged, dropping Liam’s hand, “He isn’t about to give you the shotgun speech, right Remy?”

“Shotgun speech?” Malia asked, Derek noticed that she had been observing the scene with an oddly blank look on her face and her voice was flat when she asked the question, like she didn’t really care about the answer.

“You know the whole, you kids go out and have fun and I’ll just wait up for you cleaning my shotgun speech.”

“Oh” Malia shrugged and turned back to Stiles, “My dad gave Stiles a speech like that when he found out we were together.”

“And I wouldn’t put it past your dad to follow through with that threat.” Scott said with a slight laugh.

“It certainly scared Stiles, he refused to come to my house for the next week, not that I minded of course, I spent most nights at his house anyways.” Malia reached out and pushed back a lock of Stiles’ hair. She had drifted off into her own world, lost in her memories.

“No shotgun speeches right Remy?” Olivia asked the question firmer than she had the first time.

“Of course not little sis. Let’s go Liam.” And with that Remy put his arm around Liam and guided him out the door.

*****

Stiles shakily opened up his bedroom door. The house was quiet except for the distant sound of the TV. Stiles knew his mom would be watching her late night television shows as she did every night.

“As the made up version of her inside my head does every night.” Stiles corrected himself outloud. With a deep breath he started down the stairs. Each step felt as if he was wading through thick mud. And with each step he felt his heart grow heavier and heavier. By the time he reached the bottom he was breathing heavily and on the verge of a panic attack. Stiles sat down on the bottom step, closed his eyes, and tried to catch his breath. He had to remain calm to do what he needed to do.

*****

“Dude, you need to get a hold of yourself, you are freaking my sister out.” Remy said as soon as they were out of earshot. He kept his voice kind but stern. He felt sorry for the kid, Remy knew all about loss, knew all about watching people he cared about die, knew all about feeling helpless to do anything about it.

“I know, I know.” Liam angrily pulled his hands through his hair as he paced. “It’s just I...there’s nothing…” Remy reached out and put his hand on Liam’s arm, stopping his frantic pacing.

“I understand, Liam. You feel helpless and you want to do something. You don’t want to just stand there and watch your friend slowly fade away.” Remy took his hand off. Liam stood with his shoulders hunched, looking at the ground. After a few moments of silence Remy kept talking. “You just have to believe in Stiles, that is all you can do right now. Hell, I haven’t known him that long and I know that he is stubborn, strong, and a fighter.”

“Yeah, he is all that for sure..." Liam looked as if he wanted to say more so Remy stayed quiet, giving the younger boy a chance to collect his thoughts. Finally Liam met Remy's eyes and continued. " You know it took the two of us a while to warm up to each other, and it took Stiles even longer to actually trust me. But once he did, he became one of the best friends I have ever had... Like this one time there was this kid giving me a hard time. He had found out about my anger issues and that I had gotten kicked out of my last school. He threatened to tell everyone about it if I didn’t do his homework and give him money for lunch and things like that. I didn’t tell anyone because I was embarrassed, but somehow Stiles found out. He confronted the kid and I have no idea what he said, but all I know is this kid comes up to me, gives me back all the money he had taken from me, offers to do my homework for the rest of the year, and told me he would not tell anyone about me getting kicked out of school. I had no idea what had happened until I saw this kid give a nervous glance behind my shoulder before he practically ran away. I turned to see Stiles grinning at me widely. I still have no idea what he did to that kid, but he scared him good.” Liam smiled at the memory.

“I wouldn’t want to get on Stiles’ bad side, that’s for sure.” Remy said with a grimace “I hope I’m not on his bad side for bringing all of this crap to your pack.”

“Stiles doesn’t blame you guys for that. He knew that you didn’t do anything intentionally. You were just doing the best you could in a sucky situation.”

“Yeah, but I don’t think he fully trusted us, and now that this has happened…” Remy trailed off, trying not to imagine how Stiles would look at him, his sister, and Dawson when he woke up.

“Stiles doesn’t trust easily, he’s been burned before. He is just looking out for himself and the pack. He is fiercely protective of those he cares about. I think he wants to trust you, it’s just hard for him to take that leap of faith, but he’ll get there eventually.” Liam had started out sounding confident, but at the end his voice dropped and Remy could smell his sadness. He knew what the unsaid words at the end of that sentence were. Stiles would get there eventually, if he woke up.

“Come on,” Remy put a hand on Liam’s shoulder, “We should get back, we don’t want to miss Stiles waking up right?” Remy injected as much hope and optimism into his words as possible. Liam gave him a half smile for his effort.

“No, we don’t” the boy replied, but Remy wasn’t sure if he believed his own words.


	32. Chapter 32

Parrish stepped quietly into the room. He could feel the tension immediately, a few people glanced at him, but most remained still with their eyes locked on Stiles. Lydia had called Jordan as soon as Scott and the Sheriff had emerged. He had finished up what he was doing as quickly as possible and rushed over to the hospital.

Lydia walked over to him and gave him a small smile, he barely resisted the urge to pull her into his arms and hold her close, but he knew that this was neither the time nor the place and that Lydia would be resistant to such a public display of comfort. He could tell by the way she looked at him with her chin up and eyes dry that she was determined to stay strong. He knew her well enough to know that she was doing this for the benefit of everyone else in the room. She would stay strong so that the other's didn't have to. Looking around he saw Melissa, Argent, Deaton, Kira, and Kyle and Remy doing the same thing. They were all comforting others and trying to keep their own emotions in check.

Parrish brought his attention back to the small redhead standing in front of him.

"No change?" He whispered and she shook her head in response.

"I guess this is a no news is good news type situation. He hasn't improved yet, but he also hasn't gotten worse...I don't know what to make of it."

"He's trying to find his way out, he'll make it" Parrish said. He reached down and took her hand, needing to be connected to her in some way. She quickly gripped his back and looked at him intently for a few moments. He quirked his eyebrows in a question and she shrugged and turned her gaze to Stiles.

"I'm just happy you're here." She said softly.

*****

Stiles once again managed to calm himself down. He grabbed onto the stair railing and pulled himself onto his feet. He closed his eyes for a second, picturing the faces of his dad and all of his friends. Picturing the faces of all of the people he was trying to get back to. Suddenly, his mom's face appeared in his head. Stiles gasped and opened up his eyes.

"She's not my real mom, she is just my imagination, she's not real, if I stay here I will die, she's not real..." Stiles whispered the words like a mantra, hoping that saying them out loud would somehow lessen the sting of what he was about to do. "She's not real, I'm in a coma right now and I have to wake up, She's not my real mom..." Stiles slowly moved forward until he was in the doorway of the living room. He could hear the faint noise of the TV coming from the room. Stiles took a deep breath and took a step into the room.

*****

Isaac stood at the foot of Stiles' bed staring at his friend. He thought of all of the times early in their relationship when he would have loved to see Stiles so still and quiet. When he had first met Stiles, the boy's hyperactivity had drove Isaac insane. Not that he could blame Stiles for his feelings. Isaac would see Stiles jiggling his leg in class and think about the time his father had thrown a spoon at him for doing the same thing at the dinner table. Or he would see Stiles pacing outside talking frantically to Scott and think about the time when his father had locked him in the freezer because he had heard him pacing in his room.

Overall, Isaac had envied Stiles. He envied his carefree attitude and his extroversion. Stiles would blurt out whatever came to his mind, no matter what the situation. Isaac had been taught over the years to watch everything he said. Ever since his brother had died, Isaac was forced to think carefully about every word that he spoke to his father. Eventually that had become a habit that he had taken to school. His friends had accepted his quietness and moodiness for a little while, chalking it up to him grieving over his brother, but eventually they had all given up on him. His teachers all thought he was a loser student because he frequently missed homework and he never participated in class. What they didn't know was that his father would scream at him for an hour about his grades and homework and then lock him in the basement for another few hours. After he would send Isaac to his room to finish his homework. But Isaac, tired and hungry, couldn't ever concentrate and would often fall asleep at his desk.

Slowly, Isaac had become as invisible as possible, both at home and at school. He would sit at the back of the class and watch Stiles goof around, laugh loudly, make a fool of himself over Lydia, and talk back to the teachers. Stiles wasn't trying to, but he always managed to draw attention to himself and that was something that Isaac had learned to view as unacceptable behavior.

Then Isaac had met Derek and had been given the power to take back his life. With the help of Derek, Erica, and Boyd, he was able to find the courage to rediscover who he was. He developed a sarcastic streak, a biting humor, and a taste for vengeance. He was finally able to talk face to face with Stiles and actually enjoy the verbal sparring. He could finally stand up to his father without the fear of getting hurt.

Eventually, Isaac realized he wanted more out of life. With the added help of Scott, he was able to discover who he wanted to be. He still held on to his sarcasm, insults, and overly blunt speech, but he finally felt like he was on the side of good. Being in Scott's pack, he knew that he was doing what was right and helping people. Scott had such an unwavering sense of right and wrong. It gave Isaac great comfort knowing that he had finally found someone whom he could trust absolutely. Someone who didn't have a secret agenda with him, someone who would never hurt him, someone who would protect him, someone who made him feel like he belonged.

Unfortunately, wherever Scott was, Stiles also was. Isaac still wasn't sure how he felt about Stiles at that point, but Stiles certainly didn't seem to trust Isaac. The two often butted heads and engaged in not so friendly banter. Isaac didn't see why Stiles as a weak human was always included in their plans and Stiles didn't see why Isaac with his pessimism and unhelpful comments was invited to their planning sessions.

It took a while for the two to form a grudging respect for one another, and even longer to view each other as friends, but eventually it had happened. Now, Isaac greatly admired Stiles for his brilliant mind and courage. Now, Stiles laughed at Issac's sarcasm and used his pessimistic comments to make his plans better. Their bond had taken a while to form, but that made it all the more unbreakable. Isaac would give his life for Stiles and he knew that his friend would do the same.

Now, Isaac looked at Stiles' still form and ached to hear his friend's voice. A silent Stiles was never a good sign. It reminded him too much of the times when all hoped had seemed lost, when they would look to Stiles for a plan and he would stare silently back at them. Or of the times after Stiles had been possessed by the Nogitsune when he had tried to pretend like he was okay, but sometimes Isaac would look over and see Stiles sitting silently among his friends as they chattered away.

"I shouldn't have left you." Isaac whispered. Ever since he had been back, he had realized how much he had really missed. He realized now that he had run away with Argent, he had abandoned his friends and his home because he hadn't known how to deal with the loss of Allison. In the wake of his grief, he had left his friends to deal with everything on their own.

Isaac had spent all of his time since coming back trying to make up for his absence. Scott and Stiles had welcomed him with open arms and both assured him that they understood why he had left, but that did little to ease his burden.

If Stiles were to die, Isaac would spend the rest of his life regretting all of the time that he had spent away from his friend. All the precious moments he had missed because he was being selfish. If Stiles were to live, Isaac would spend the rest of his life protecting his friend and making up for lost time. He was just hoping and praying that it was the latter option that came true. He couldn't lose another friend.

*****

The room was dark, but Stiles could see the glow of the TV and his mom's profile. He stood in the doorway, he felt paralyzed, he couldn't move, couldn't even breathe. Then with a gasp he stumbled back and spun so that he was behind the wall and could no longer see his mom. 

His chest heaved up and down in silent sobs. He couldn't do it, he wasn't strong enough to say goodbye. How could he walk up to her and tell her that she wasn't real? He didn't have that kind of courage. 

Self-hatred began to seep in as tears fell down his face. Scott and his dad had believed in him, but their trust was misplaced. He lacked the strength to do this on his own. His breath hitched and he felt dizzy, the room seemed to tilt and this time he didn't fight it. He found himself sprawled on the floor, he closed his eyes, knowing that he had run out of time, knowing that he hadn't been strong enough to save himself.

*****

Malia's entire body spasmed when Stiles' heart rate monitor sped up. She looked frantically around the room, searching the shocked faces until she found Melissa's.

"What's happening?" She yelled as Melissa rushed to Stiles' side.

"I don't know...He's going into shock, I h-" Melissa cut off and stared at Stiles, Malia followed her gaze and saw that Stiles' nose was bleeding.

"No, no, no, no, no" Malia frantically grabbed for Stiles' had that she had dropped in surprise. She gripped it hard and leaned in close to Stiles. "You can't do this to us! You can't give up. You promised you would always stay with me! Stiles, stay with me! You have to fight, I know you can do it, one last fight. Come on Stiles!" Malia knew she was yelling at the top of her lungs, but she didn't care. If there was any chance that Stiles could hear her, she had to take it. 

She kept yelling and suddenly her voice wasn't the only one. Soon everyone in the room was yelling for Stiles to keep fighting.

*****

His head felt like it was going to explode. There was a roaring in his ears, it was the loudest thing he had ever heard. The floor was shaking and it felt like the house was about to tear apart at any moment. Stiles clutched his head, kept his eyes slammed shut, and waited for it to be over.

Only it didn't end, it kept going and going. Eventually Stiles became aware of a distant sound. It sounded like someone trying to yell over the sounds of a tornado that was five feet away. Stiles uncovered his ears and tried to hone in on what the person was yelling.

"...give up. You promised....stay with me!...fight..." Stiles could only make out bits and pieces but he recognized Malia's voice. She was reminding him of his promise and telling him to fight. Stiles struggled into a sitting position, the floor still shaking and his ears still filled with that roaring sound. As he strained to hear Malia more clearly the noise slowly started to fade. Stiles could now hear other voices yelling with Malia. Scott, his Dad, Melissa, Isaac, Derek, Lydia, Liam, Kira, Argent, Parrish, Braeden, Deaton, even Kyle, Olivia, Remy, and Dawson.

Stiles' mind cleared as their voices got louder. Everyone he loved was telling him to fight. They were all real and they were all out in the real world waiting for him to come back to them. They had all lost so much, every single one had been touched by grief and death. Stiles couldn't be the one to put them all through that again. Holding onto this fantasy was not worth the pain it would cause his loved ones. If he didn't have the strength to do it for himself, maybe he could find the strength to do it for them.

The floor had stopped shaking so Stiles pulled himself cautiously to his feet. He took a deep breath and peeked around the corner into the living room. As he suspected, everything looked totally normal, his mom was still watching her overly dramatic hospital drama like nothing had happened.

Gathering all of his courage and love for the voices he had heard, he once again stepped into the room.

*****

Everyone quieted as Stiles' heartbeat returned to normal.

"It worked." Scott breathed, looking in amazement at Malia. "How did you know?"

"I didn't" She said, looking down at Stiles. "I just...well I may have imagined it, but I thought maybe...maybe for a second earlier that his hand tightened in mine. I know it could've been a reflex, but I couldn't help thinking that maybe as he's fighting his way out he is getting closer to the surface. So he might be able to hear us. And when he was...when he was in trouble I just had to give it a try. It was a desperate attempt to try to help him in any way possible..."

"Well, it worked." Scott said again. Looking around the room, he could see that everyone looked shell-shocked. Not that he could blame them, it was hard to keep up with the extremes of emotions they kept feeling. One minute they were all worried but slightly bored waiting, and the next they were terrified Stiles was dying, then they were relieved that he was okay and it was back to worrying.

Scott got a tissue to wipe the blood from his friend's nose and tried not to think about how close that had been. Stiles didn't have much left. Scott knew that his body was breaking down without his mind in it. If Stiles didn't find a way out and soon, it could be all over for his friend.

"What do you think he is doing in there?" Kira asked, and although she had said it softly, Scott sensed everyone in the room listening for his answer.

"I think he's saying goodbye to his mom for the second time." Scott answered just as quietly.

"No wonder it's taking so much time." Kira said, her voice full of sadness. She moved slightly closer to Scott so that their shoulders touched. Scott found himself comforted by the simple gesture and the warmth he could feel from her shoulder against his.

"Do you think he'll make it?" The question came from Isaac, who was standing at the end of Stiles' bed looking pale.

"Stiles has never worried too much about his own safety, but he does worry constantly about the people he loves. I think he heard us, and I think he will fight as hard as he can to get back to us because he wouldn't want to hurt us by giving up. Besides, he's too stubborn to give up." Lydia surprised them all with her confident answer.

"C'mon Stiles, open your eyes." Malia said it like a prayer. The room fell silent as everyone once again focused their attention on Stiles.

*****

Stiles' heart pounded as he stood rooted to the spot, staring at his mom. He was shaking and sweating and knew that he couldn't hold himself together for long. If he was going to do this he needed to do it now. Stiles took a deep breath and took a small step forward. The floorboard creaked and his mother turned to look at him, she gave him a big smile.

"Oh, I didn't realize you were still up." She said pleasantly, but her smile faded as she looked closer at him. "Honey, are you okay?" She muted the TV and turned to fully face him, "are you getting sick?" Stiles slowly went over and sat next to his mom on the couch. She reached up and felt his forehead. "Oh, Stiles, you're burning up."

"No, mom, it's okay." Stiles took her hand and held it in both of his. "I have to talk to you."

"Okay sweetie" She gave him a look full of confusion and concern. "What is it?" The question sent Stiles' heart racing. Now that the time had come, he had no idea how to explain it all.

"Mom, I have to tell you something and it's going to make no sense at all, but I need you to hear me out okay?"

"You know you can tell me anything." Her voice was steady, but her face held apprehension.

"I have to leave, I have to say goodbye to you and I am never going to be able to talk to you again...at least not like this..."

"Stiles, what are you talking about? Whatever it is, whatever is happening we can deal with it. Together as a family." Her voice was now panicked.

"No, we can't mom. This isn't real right now. I am in a coma and I have made up this elaborate fantasy. Only now I am trapped in it and I will die if I can't wake up."

"So wake up, I will be waiting for you there." She said it like it was the simplest thing in the world. Stiles wished with all of his heart that everything really was that simple. Stiles was a little surprised at how quickly she had accepted what he was saying. Although he realized now that he shouldn't be, his mom had always been very open minded.

"The reason why I've been trapped inside this fantasy is because you are here...because mom...out in the real world you are....you're dead." Stiles struggled to say the words as tears began to fall.

"Oh, honey" His mom pulled him into a hug. He buried his head into her neck and began to sob. The only other time he had cried this hard was when his father had come out of his mom's hospital room and told him that his mom was gone. "Shh, shh, Stiles, everything is going to be all right." His mom smoothed down his hair and rubbed his back. She held him tight until he began to calm down. Then she pulled back and looked him in his eyes. "You need to go now Stiles."

"I don't want to leave you." Stiles sniffled.

"I know sweetie, but I am always with you. I will always be watching over you and your father."

"I love you mom" Stiles threw his arms around her again

"I love you too, my baby." She hugged him back. He took one last moment to memorize the feel of her arms around him and her scent which was still familiar after all these years. "Take care of your father for me." His mom said as she released him. Then she stood up and held out her hand. He accepted it and they walked together to the front door. "My brave, strong son, I am so very proud of the man you have become." His mom's words felt like a punch to the gut. He had always strived to make her proud and hearing her say it, even a made up version of her, hit him like a ton of bricks.

"I l-love you...goodbye mom." His breath was coming in gasps after all of the crying.

"Goodbye baby, I will always love you." His mom leaned down and kissed him on the forehead. Then she stepped back and gave him a smile of encouragement. It took every ounce of willpower to not go running over and throw his arms around her again. But instead he managed to remain in place and put his hands on the doorknob.

"Dad, Malia, Scott, Lydia...." Stiles began to whisper the names of the people he was trying to get back to. He closed his eyes and recited the names over and over. Still saying the names he twisted the handle and stepped through the door.

*****

Malia was drifting. She was fighting hard to stay awake, but that was proving to be a near impossible task. Her eyes kept closing on their own and she was pretty sure she kept falling asleep for short periods of time. The other people in the room weren't doing much better. Some were fully asleep, others were just zoning out, and some were drifting in and out of sleep like Malia.

She couldn't remember the last time she had slept, and she knew the last time she had gotten a good night's sleep was before the 3 omega's arrived weeks ago. She could probably go home and sleep for days straight, but she refused to sleep until she knew that Stiles was okay. Her sleep deprivation was nothing compared to what he was going through.

Malia felt her eyes growing heavy again, her eyelids kept drifting closed on their own. Each time they did, they got heavier and harder to open back up.

Suddenly, Malia felt a pressure on her hand. She sat upright and looked at her hand that was intertwined with Stiles, trying to figure out if she had just dreamed that he had squeezed her hand. Her eyes moved to his face where she was greeted with a sight that she had been waiting for.

Stiles' beautiful brown eyes were open and looking right at her. She just barely managed to resist the urge to throw herself onto him.

"Stiles! You're awake! He's awake guys!" Malia was shouting at the top of her lungs. Everyone immediately jumped up and surrounded Stiles' bed. They gave him words of encouragement and pats on where he wasn't injured. Malia just observed the scene with tears running down her cheeks, her hand gripping Stiles, and a huge smile on her face.

Stiles was awake, he had done it. He had fought and found his way back to them.


	33. Chapter 33

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> YOU GUYS GOT THIS TO 50K!!!!!!! Words cannot explain how much I love you all. Thanks for all of your support and votes and comments! I hope that this emotional yet happy ending to the chapter makes you as happy as I am right now!

Everything was black. Stiles felt heavy as he tried to fight his way into consciousness. He felt as if he were weighed down at the bottom of a dark lake. He slowly began fighting his way to the surface. He couldn't remember how he had ended up there, all he knew was that he needed to get out.

Very slowly the shimmering surface began to get closer. With one final push, Stiles emerged out into the sunlight.

*****

The first thing that Stiles was aware of was pain. The pain seemed to be radiating through every inch of his body. It almost made him wish that he was still stuck inside of his head. Almost. He stayed as still as he possibly could because he knew that the second he moved, the pain would be unbearable.

Once he had adjusted to the pain slightly, the second thing he noticed was a warmth spreading from his hand. He knew immediately that it was Malia's hand. Just as he had known it was Malia's hand that he had felt squeezing his when he was trapped inside his coma. The feel of her hand in his gave him the strength to open up his eyes.

His eyelids felt like they weighed a thousand pounds. With a great amount of effort he managed to pry them open. At first the light blinded him and his vision was blurry. After a few moments of blinking his vision cleared enough for him to make out the white ceiling of the hospital. He moved his head slightly to try to get a glimpse of the others in the room and just barely managed to keep from crying out as his head throbbed. But he had managed to tilt his head enough so he could see better. What he saw brought tears to his eyes, it was all of the people he loved gathered together. No one had noticed that he was awake yet because they were all asleep or staring off into space. Stiles had no idea how long he had been in a coma, so he had no idea how long his friends had been staked out inside of his hospital room.

Bracing for another wave of pain, Stiles turned his head slightly to the right so that he could focus in on Malia.

The sight of her brought another huge wave of emotions. He head was propped up on her arms and he eyes were closed. Her hair was all tangled and she had dark circles under her eyes. But she was still the most beautiful thing he had ever seen. The Malia in his dream was nothing compared to the real one. Nothing could ever really capture her essence. The fierceness and strength and protectiveness and beauty were things that were completely unique to her.

Seeing her took away some of the sting of losing his mom. Stiles squeezed her hand and watched as she jumped awake. She stared at their clasped hands for a few seconds as if she didn't really believe that he had just moved. Then slowly, she brought her eyes up until they found his.

He watched in fascination as dozens of emotions flickered across her widened eyes. Then she gave him a dazzling smile and squeezed his hand back.

"Stiles! You're awake! He's awake guys!" she practically shouted. Her raised voice sent a shock of pain through his head but he didn't care. He focused his attention on all of his friends and family.

His father had tears streaming down his face. He smiled through them and kissed Stiles on the forehead. He looked like he wanted to say something but was too overcome with emotion.

Scott also had wet eyes, he stood next to Stiles father. When Stiles met his eyes, Scott smiled and gave him a nod. No words needed to be exchanged between the two of them. They had been through too much together, one look could say it all.

Lydia and Derek had dry eyes, but Stiles could tell how emotional they were.

Isaac and Liam were crying and holding onto each other and Stiles.

Melissa was holding his other hand with Kira next to her. Both women were smiling so hard that it looked like it hurt.

Deaton, Kyle, Dawson, Olivia, and Remy were all standing a little bit back, allowing those who were closest with Stiles to surround him first. They were all watching the scene with smiles on their faces.

Stiles eyes started to drift close of their own accord. He struggled to keep them open, he wanted to stay awake. He wanted to stay with those he loved. He was also afraid of falling asleep again, what if he couldn't wake up again?

Melissa was the first to notice Stiles' struggle. She squeezed his hand and smiled gently.

"What do you say we let Stiles get some rest?" The others looked reluctant, but the nodded when the looked at Stiles and saw how his eyes were drooping. "Stiles, we will be here when you wake up." She leaned down and kissed his forehead before releasing his hand and stepping back. His father followed suit, kissing him and whispering a hoarse,

"I love you son," Stiles wished desperately that he could respond, but the tube down his throat prevented that, but one look at his father and he knew that his dad knew.

Stiles turned slightly so he could see Malia, his eyelids growing heavier by the second, but he just wanted one last look at her. She sat there, with tears in her eyes and a smile on her lips. Stiles' eyes finally closed with the image of her burned into the back of his eyelids.

*****

Stiles drifted in and out of consciousness. He woke up a few more times, but he was only half conscious of what was happening in the room. A few of the times he was unable to pry his eyes open and just listened to the sound of voices around him. He couldn't really make out what they were saying, but the familiar sounds washed over him and put him back to sleep.

The next time that Stiles opened up his eyes, he found the room a lot emptier. This time he saw only Scott, his father, and Malia. He suspected that the latter had yet to let go of his hand. He was glad for that, her hand in his helped him to feel grounded to reality.

"Stiles" His father was the first to notice that he was awake. At the Sheriff's voice, Scott and Malia both plastered smiles onto their exhausted faces. Stiles knew that they were trying to seem bright and happy for his benefit and he appreciated the effort.

"Wh'evrybdy?" Stiles' voice was rough and it was no louder than a whisper. His voice came out slurred because of pain and sleepiness. But he was glad to have the tube out of his throat so that he could speak.

"My mom sent everyone home," Stiles was grateful that Scott had understood his question. "They didn't like it, but they were all dead on their feet." Scott and Malia exchanged a look that told Stiles that everyone hadn't left quietly. "They finally gave in once the 3 of us said we'd stay and Melissa pointed out how overwhelming it must've been for you to wake up with everyone all around you."

"Yeah....but good to see friends." Stiles felt his eyelids drifting closed, but he fought to stay awake. "And dad..." He turned his head to see his father better. The movement sent a wave of pain through his body. He must've shown it on his face because his dad put his hand lightly on Stiles' forehead.

"Easy does it son. You've got a pretty bad concussion along with everything else. So slow movements." He brushed Stiles' hair off of his forehead, his father's eyes were glistening. Stiles turned his head slowly the other direction to get a good look at Malia. He wasn't surprised when he saw black veins shooting up her arm. She gave him a small pained smile.

"I wish I could take more."

"S'okay...feels better" Stiles mumbled, He wanted to spend more time with his dad and friends, but with his dad stroking his hair like he used to do when Stiles was young and Malia taking some of his pain, Stiles' body rebelled.

"What..." He had so many questions about what had happened on their side since he'd been taken. He looked at Scott, pleading with him with his eyes to explain. Scott seemed to understand, but he shook his head.

"Stiles, you need to rest. We can talk more once you wake back up." Scott used his firm alpha tone that he had perfected. It wasn't the supernatural voice, but it was the voice of a leader. It was a kind tone but it left no room for argument. Still Stiles wanted to argue, but he suddenly couldn't think of anything to say. His eyes somehow closed again, but he forced them back open, he wanted to stay awake, he wanted to stay with his dad and Scott and Malia. He was suddenly afraid of going to sleep.

"Stiles, it's okay, you can sleep." Malia leaned forward and kissed him lightly on the lips. He ached for more, but knew that his broken body couldn't handle it. His eyes had shut when she had kissed him but he pried them open one last time. "Sleep Stiles, we'll be right here when you wake back up." She squeezed his hand, letting him know that she wasn't going to let go.

And with Malia's promise, both spoken and unspoken, he fell back asleep.

*****

"Stiles, where'd you run off to? We were just starting to have some fun." The voice from the shadows sent a chill down Stiles' spine. Although he couldn't see anything, he could recognize that voice anywhere. Stiles tried to run, but he found himself bound. He tried to scream, but no sound would come out. "I'm coming for you Stiles. I can take you from anywhere at anytime. You aren't safe even in that hospital bed surrounded by your pack." The man spit out the last word as he stepped into the light. He had a vicious smile, a malicious twinkle in his eyes, and red hair that reflected the light. Stiles tried to scream again and the man laughed. He frantically squirmed in his bonds, trying somehow to get out. "Just you wait, Stiles. I'm coming." Stiles used all of his strength to try to break free, his every movement sent waves of pain down his body, but he ignored that. Nothing had ever been more important than breaking free. He gritted his teeth, and pulled with all of his might.

"STILES, WAKE UP!" At the sound of his father's voice, Stiles froze. He blinked furiously as his eyes adjusted to the bright light. A heaviness settled over him as he viewed the scene in front of him. His father had his hands on his shoulders, Scott had hold of his legs, and Malia had thrown herself over his torso. When he stopped fighting, they all released him and took a step back. Stiles' breath quickened as he looked between the 3 of them. They all were looked at him with shocked and terrified expressions on their faces. Stiles felt panic wash over him. He was disoriented and sweating and shaking from his nightmare. Stiles' father was the first to recover. He stepped forward and brushed his hand along Stiles' cheek.

"Shhh, son, shh. It's okay, it was just a dream. You're safe, you're with us now, no one is going to hurt you." The Sheriff soothed. Stiles closed his eyes and tried to steady his breathing, he tried to concentrate on what his father was saying.

"You aren't safe even in that hospital bed." Stiles' eyes flew open. He wanted to physically pound the nightmare from his head, instead he tried to focus on other things. His gaze fell on Malia, who was standing a few feet from the bed. Those few feet felt like miles, and his hand felt cold without hers intertwined with it. She let out a choked sob and Stiles realized that she had tears streaming down her face. In a blur of motion she closed the gap between them. She fell to her knees next to his bed and took his hand in both of hers. She laid her cheek on top of their hands. Stiles couldn't see her face, but he saw her shoulder's shaking and felt warm tears on his hand.

"What happened?" He asked in shock, looking between Scott and his dad, he had never seen Malia so beside herself. His dad opened his mouth to answer, but at that moment a nurse burst into the room. The Sheriff hurried over to her to explain the situation. Scott shifted uncomfortably from foot to foot.

"Man, I've seen you wake up from your nightmares, but this was different." Scott shook his head, as if he didn't believe his own memory of what had just happened. He looked at Stiles and hesitated, as if trying to decide if Stiles could handle hearing about it.  
"Please, just...not knowing is worse." Stiles begged. Malia's quiet shaking had turned into full fledged sobs. Every cry tore right through his heart. He wanted nothing more than to be able to put his arms around her.

"You kinda just went berserk. It took all of the strength that the 3 of us had to keep you from falling off the bed. You were fighting us so hard...and screaming" Scott shuddered, "I've never heard anything like that before." Scott looked at him with a shell shocked expression. "Stiles, what-" He started to ask a question but stopped himself. Stiles lightly shook his head, answering the unspoken question.

"I can't man, not yet." He wasn't ready to talk about his nightmare, because in order for Scott to understand, Stiles would have to tell him everything and he didn't like thinking about it, let alone reliving it as he voiced what had happened outloud. "But please Scott, tell me what happened to the hunters. I need to know." Stiles trusted them when they told him that he was safe, but his thoughts kept drifting back to his nightmare. He had to know what had happened, he had to know that the redhead and his other torturers were never coming back again. Scott nodded and opened his mouth to speak, but he was cut off by the nurse who came hurrying over. She was heavyset and had kind eyes, but when she spoke it was in a tone that left no room for argument.

"You two can talk later, right now Mr. Stilinski, we have to get you stitched back up." She gestured at Stiles' torso. He saw with horror that his hospital gown was covered with blood. He must've opened up all of his stitches with his struggling.

"Okay, but first, can we just have a quick minute" He begged, nodding his head towards Malia, who was still sobbing, although less than she had been at the beginning. The nurse, Elizabeth her nametag said, surveyed the scene with her hands on her hips. Then she gave a nod,

"You have two minutes, you can't afford to lose anymore blood Mr. Stilinski." She gave him a small smile and bustled out of the room. Scott and his father each gave him a worried glance before following her out.

"Malia" He said softly when they were alone. He gently pulled his hand out and stroked her hair. "Malia, look at me." She lifted her head. Her eyes were red and puffy, her face was pale and splotchy, her hair was crazy, and she had blood on her cheek that Stiles suspected was his own. But still Stiles drank in the sight of her. He would never get tired of looking at her and he was never again going to take simple things like just being together for granted.

"I'm sorry..." Malia sniffed.

"Shh, it's okay, I'm okay." Stiles reached over and wiped the tears and blood off her cheeks as best he could. "I didn't mean to scare you." He murmured. At his words a fresh set of tears filled Malia's eyes.

"Oh, god!" She huffed and furiously wiped at her eyes. "This should be the other way around, I should be comforting you. It's just..." Malia cut herself off and looked away from him.

"Just what?" he prodded, but she just violently shook her head. "Malia, you can tell me."

"I know, but you have enough to worry about without shouldering my burdens as well. I need you to focus on getting yourself better. Then you can comfort me all that you want." She gave him a weak smile, but it did a lot to lift his spirits. He ran his thumb along her lips and stroked her cheek. She leaned into his hand and closed her eyes.

"I love you, Malia Tate." This wasn't how he had imagined saying those words to her for the first time, but looking at her, he just couldn't wait any longer. After all they had been through, he needed to tell her, he needed to make sure that she knew without a doubt that he loved her. He had planned to do something super romantic and then drop those three little words, but since he knew he wouldn't be in any position to make grand gestures for a while, this seemed like as good of a time as any.

At his words, Malia's eyes flew open in shock. As she looked at him a huge smile spread across her face, the first genuine smile had had seen since he woke up. Malia looked like she wanted to pounce on him but she settled on kissing him softly on his lips, then his cheeks and nose and forehead. She peppered soft, little kisses all over his face. When she leaned back she still had the smile on her face.

"And I love you, my brave Stiles." Her words washed over him like a healing balm. Stiles felt lighter and his pain didn't seem as sharp. He knew he had a goofy smile on his face that matched hers. He ran his fingers along the crease in her cheek that her smile made. She took his hand lightly in hers and kissed each of his knuckles gently. Each light kiss sent a thrill through his body. Malia had never before shown him such gently, caring affection. She was more the hot kisses, scratches on the back type person. Stiles had never minded it, but he found himself drawn to this more delicate, caring side of her. It showed that she trusted him enough to allow herself to be more exposed and vulnerable, something that Malia did not often do.

Stiles and Malia were so caught up in their own world that they didn't notice Nurse Elizabeth until she cleared her throat. They both gave a small jump and then smiled at each other.

"Alright Romeo, I would rather you not die a needless death for love like in the book. Let's get you stitched up and then you two can get back to ogling each other." Stiles gave a little laugh, the sound was rough and sounded foreign to his ears, but Malia beamed at him and even Nurse Elizabeth cracked a genuine smile. "Finally, a patient that appreciates my sense of humor. You and I are going to get along very well Mr. Stilinski."


End file.
